Blessed Beauty
by Roll286
Summary: They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In her eyes, beauty is not a blessing – It's a curse. Fated to live in a constant state of distrust and cynicism, she isolates herself until meeting him. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, and in his eyes, he was truly blessed to behold her beauty.
1. Chapter 1

"**Please go out with me!**"

Ugh. Another one.

How many is that this month?

There, in front of her, stood another boy from her school. He bowed deeply to her, professing his supposedly 'deep love' for her. He had called her out during lunch period to bring her to the courtyard so that they could have a private moment.

Except it wasn't all that private, considering his group of friends were right around the corner, peeping on them and eavesdropping.

She gave a long and dragged out sigh, causing the boy in front of her to flinch. He hesitantly looked up at her, only to shiver at her cold gaze.

"Why do you want to go out with me?" She questioned.

The boy furrowed his brows. "E-Eh? Uh…well…like I said! I-I like you!"

The girl only sighed again, growing more irritated with each word. "Let me be more specific then. _What_ do you like about me?"

The boy froze. It was the sort of question that many boyfriends had dreaded hearing from their girlfriends. However, he was not her boyfriend and it seemed _especially_ accusatory coming from her.

"O-Oh, well…you're just my type, you know?" He laughed slightly, one hand rubbing the back of his neck as he smiled sheepishly.

"No, I _don't_ know. Please explain." Her face hadn't changed. It was always that annoyed expression and cold glare.

The boy immediately stopped laughing, his sheepish smile slowly turning into an uncomfortable grimace. He kept silent, trying to find the words that he thought would appease her.

After a moment of nothing from him, she tiredly sighed once more. "So, you_ can't_ explain. Which means there really is nothing about me that you like other than my appearance, is there?"

She had asked that rhetorically, but the boy still tried to defend himself. "Th-That's not true!"

She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at him skeptically. "Really? Then how come you couldn't explain what it is about me that you like?"

The boy looked down, not having an answer for her. She sighed again. "Do we even know each other? Do you even know me?"

"O-Of course I know you! We're in the same school!" He shouted, struggling to cling onto any semblance of hope in this conversation.

"So, you know me. What's my favorite color? What are my hobbies? What kind of music do I listen to? What do I want to do in the future?" She paused her interrogation, giving him a chance.

He would have taken it if he could, but the fact is that he just couldn't. He remained silent again, staring at the ground in shame.

"You claim to know who I am. Yet, you can't even answer such basic questions? So, the only thing you liked about me really was just my appearance." She stared at him with that unrelenting, cold gaze of hers. The boy felt like he was growing smaller and smaller by the second.

"Fine. For the sake of this argument, let's say that you really do know me. Well, I certainly don't know you. I know that we go to the same school. Other than that, I know nothing about you. Not even your name. Now, tell me why I would go out with someone who is basically a complete stranger to me." Her voice was just as cold as her eyes. Calculated and ruthless. She waited a couple moments for him to respond. When he didn't, she turned on her heel.

"D-Don't you believe in things like love at first sight?!" He shouted after her.

She turned back around at him, scowling. "Do you understand just how ridiculous you sound right now? You denied that you only like me for my looks. Yet, you speak of 'love at first sight' as if that's not something somebody decides upon through appearances."

She shook her head disapprovingly at him. "You're just like the rest." She nearly spat out. She turned around with absolutely no intention of looking back.

His friends rushed out from their hiding place, quick to comfort him.

"Hey, are you alright man?! It's just like what we heard in the rumors…"

"What are you talking about?! That was _way_ worse than the rumors. She's a stone-cold bitch!"

"You don't need her, bro! There's plenty of better girls out there!"

"Yeah, don't sweat it! She didn't deserve you anyways!"

Obviously, they all said these things loud enough for her to hear. It's not like she cared though. She had heard stuff like this and much more before. She had a reputation, after all.

The cold beauty. The icy empress.

It was always like this. Yet, she was always the one to blame. She was always the bad guy.

"Did you hear, she rejected Takahashi-kun!"

"What!? How dare she! Takahashi-kun is our angel!"

"I know, right?! What a bitch!"

"It's probably because she's already got a bunch of guys at her beck and call! Such a whore!"

The girls' whisperings didn't bother her. She was used to it. Besides, it's not like any of it was true, other than the rejection part.

It was always like this.

The stares. The whispers. The rumors.

It was all the same.

The world is dictated by appearances, and she was tired of it. Everyone flocked to her because she was deemed 'beautiful.' They only wanted to use her for their own benefit. Boys and girls were no different in that aspect.

There were countless boys that had confessed to her, and she rejected them all. They were all the same, just like poor Takahashi. They didn't know anything about her. All they wanted was to date a pretty face. To be known as the guy that somehow managed to land a 'ten.'

The girls weren't much better. Initially, they wanted to befriend her. That soon changed, however, when they realized the boys they liked always ended up liking her instead. Or rather, her beauty. The girls all turned on her, even though it wasn't her fault that the boys fell for her. It's not like she ever encouraged them or accepted any of their advances.

Yet, she was always the one to blame.

It wasn't just people her age either. Adults were no different.

It didn't help that she came from a rather disjointed but influential family. Parents who only got together because of a business standpoint with no love involved. A mother who was always abroad somewhere, hoping to distract herself from her pitiful life and capture her lost time as a youth. A father who fancied himself a bachelor, always with his arms wrapped around some new gaudy broad, hoping to free himself however much he could from these shackles called marriage.

Nobody seemed to care though. The family was influential, after all. People didn't waste a chance to take advantage of that. These people saw their daughter as a beauty. One that they hoped to bring into their own family.

An arranged marriage for the purpose of business. The very same type that brought her parents together. She had gotten those countless times before, as well.

The son of the other party had always refused at first. Had always been adamant about choosing his own partner because he didn't want to be told what to do by his parents. They always sang a different tune once they laid eyes on her though.

It was all the same.

Despicable.

She wasn't being bitter. It was just the truth. Cold, hard facts.

She saw how people treated those that they deemed 'ugly.' She would be treated the same way if she weren't considered 'beautiful.'

Oh, what she would do to just be 'average.'

She once tried being more optimistic about things. She really did, but then she learned the hard way about what it means to be 'beautiful.'

Beauty is not a blessing. It's a curse.

She saw through everyone and everything. They were all just blinded by her beauty. Just wanted a taste of it. Like how Icarus flew too close to the sun.

People want what they don't have, and they scorn the people that do.

What an upsetting reality she lived in.

She noticed that there seemed to be a pattern to the confessions. Of the numerous confessions she had received this month, Takahashi was already the seventh first-year.

It seemed like the younger boys hadn't heard much of the rumors about her. That, or they just didn't believe them…yet.

Not that it mattered. Takahashi would just be another case, filed away in her memories, soon to be forgotten.

Still, she appreciated the simplicity of his confession. It made things easier for her.

The confessions she had received before ranged from simple ones, like Takahashi's, to completely absurd ones.

A love letter. Flowers and chocolates. A serenade outside of her window. Shouts through a megaphone on the school's roof. One of those cheesy, life size teddy bears that you win at carnivals. Threats. Dangerous stunts for approval. Suicidal declarations of love. One man had even tried to blackmail her with family secrets that didn't exist.

She had seen it all.

But _never_, in her sixteen years of life, had Fukumoto Hitomi _ever_ been proposed to with a popsicle stick.

"**I'll give you this Garigari-kun, so please go out with me!**"


	2. Chapter 2

"**I'll give you this Garigari-kun, so please go out with me!**"

Never, in her sixteen years of life, had Fukumoto Hitomi ever been proposed to with a popsicle stick.

No, not the popsicle. It was the _stick_ from which the ice cream _came from_. So, just a plain, wooden stick.

She thought she had seen it all, but apparently, she hadn't.

Flowers, chocolates, jewelry, and any other material object one could think of. Heck, one guy even genuinely proposed with a diamond ring.

…But a popsicle stick?

Hitomi was floored. She just stared at the stick, processing what just happened. She had just walked out of the convenience store, only to be in this situation. She was too surprised to even have her normal cold glare.

Regaining her senses, her eyes travelled from the stick to the hand holding it out to her and to the face of the daring boy.

He had sparkling, hopeful eyes paired with a large grin.

Well, that probably wouldn't last for long.

She noticed that she had to look down at him. For a Japanese female, Hitomi was quite tall, standing at 5' 8''. Coupled with her slender build and pretty face, many people were led to believe that she was a model or could at least become one.

Most boys her age were either around her height or taller. Since it was the late afternoon, he had no uniform on. He was in simple black shorts and a bright red T-shirt. Perhaps this boy was younger? Middle school? Maybe even elementary?

Regardless, she would reject him. Especially after a confession like that.

Hitomi gave the most minimalist bow. "No, thank you. I have no need for other people's trash."

The boy audibly gasped with a horrified expression. "It's not trash! It's the winner!" He flipped the popsicle stick straight up, revealing some writing on it. _Winner!_ It was the type of brand that would let one claim a free ice cream if they got lucky. Apparently, he was one of those lucky winners.

The boy gasped again, this time in realization. "Could it be…you don't like Garigari-kun? But how could anybody not like Garigari-kun! They have the best ice cream! The best popsicles! Especially the soda flavor!"

Hitomi blinked. "It's not so much me not liking the ice cream as it is just me not wanting to date a complete stranger. Pardon me." She gave a minimalist bow again, quickly trying to walk past him.

Unfortunately, the boy quickly recovered. He turned around and dashed in front of her, blocking her path. He gave an overly eager ninety-degree bow, in which Hitomi had to hastily back away a little so that his head wouldn't bump into her. "My name is Nishinoya Yuu! I'm a second-year at Karasuno High School! Nice to meet you!"

Her eyes widened a little. He was the same year as her? Then he really was just rather short. Not that she really had anything against short people. She was once that height, too. Well, that really didn't change anything. She would still reject him.

"I can't say the feeling is mutual. Good day." She curtly responded, walking around him again. She felt a tug on her wrist. His hand was thin, almost bony.

"Wait! Maybe you're just not in the mood for ice cream? I have other stuff too! Hang on!" He let go of her wrist to dig into the shopping bag. He pulled out several items from the bag, inspecting them as if even he, himself, was unsure of what he bought. The bag contained several cooking ingredients and miscellaneous items. His mother probably sent him out on an errand.

With each new item he pulled out, he would mumble to himself, saying that it 'wasn't right,' or something along those lines. While he was distracted, Hitomi tried leaving again. "Wait!" He called out again, eliciting an annoyed sigh from her.

"I don't have anything else for you now, but I promise I'll have something better next time! So, tell me your name!" He pleaded.

Hitomi frowned. "I'd really rather not." She used her extra cold voice this time, forgoing her previous attempts at being polite.

The boy flinched, but his face was anything but scared. "So cold…! Ahh, it's just like Kiyoko-san!" He mumbled to himself, a strange amount of excitement in his voice.

Kiyoko-san? She was being compared? Was that some girl he was trying to get over or something? Did that mean Hitomi was just a rebound for him then? That's even worse.

She turned around to walk away yet again, but Nishinoya just followed her, walking by her side. Hitomi immediately stopped, realizing that he was the persistent type. "Please stop before I call the police." She made a show of pulling her phone out of her pocket, making it known that her threat was very much real.

The boy raised his hands up in a surrender. "Hold on, there's no need for the police! I just want to know your name!"

Hitomi sighed. "I already said I don't want to tell you. Why are you not taking the hint?"

"Because it was love at first sight!" He declared, the large grin on his face never leaving.

Ugh. That phrase again.

What was with people believing in such a thing? Sure, it may seem romantic, but it's actually just an extremely superficial and shallow concept.

Hitomi shook her head in disapproval. "You're not the first person who's said that to me today, but I'll give you the same answer that I gave to him. The only thing you like about me is my appearance. I don't know anything about you, and you don't know anything about me. There's no way I would go out with someone under those circumstances."

Nishinoya was still smiling, unrelenting. "That's why I introduced myself! I want to get to know you! We can even start off as friends if you want!"

She had met dense people before. People who went at their own pace. It didn't mean she was any less annoyed at him though. "I really don't think we can be friends, let alone boyfriend and girlfriend. Please leave me alone." She walked off again.

He was about to chase after her once more before being stopped by his phone's ringtone. Hitomi heard a shrill voice as he answered the call. "_Yuu! Where are you!? It's already been over half an hour, and I need those ingredients for dinner!_"

"Sorry, mom! I'll be right back!" The boy frantically responded, quickly ending the call. He turned back to Hitomi. "Sorry! I have to go, but I'll see you again!"

"I highly doubt that." She responded, but Nishinoya had already dashed off in the opposite direction, presumably in the direction of his house.

Hitomi's eyes followed him. For such a short boy, he could run rather fast.

Just as he turned the corner, he saw in his peripheral vision that she still stood in the same spot, staring after him. He skid to a halt, popping his head back to look at her. He happily waved at her while giving her a closed-eye grin, fully bearing his pearly whites. Hitomi promptly turned around, not reciprocating.

With her shopping bag in hand, she walked the short distance back home. Upon arrival, she was greeted by two lines of servants. They parted, making a pathway for her. "Welcome back, madam." They all greeted in unison.

A greeting that most heard with warmth, Hitomi heard with only formalities. It made this big house all the lonelier.

"I'm back." She listlessly responded, making a beeline for the stairs to her room. One maid in particular, her personal one, walked with her.

Hitomi dropped the shopping bag into the maid's hands. "Today took you a bit longer than usual, Hitomi-sama. Did you happen to come across a friend?" She asked.

The young girl scoffed. "You know I don't have any friends." The maid turned the knob, opening the door for her. "Another confession then?" She inquired.

"What else is new." Hitomi asked rhetorically. Taking a couple notebooks and pens from her bag, she walked out again. "If you need me, I'll be in my study."

The maid bowed while holding open the shopping bag. Hitomi shuffled through it, pulling out one of the snacks she bought.

A Garigari-kun popsicle. Soda flavor.

Reaching her study, Hitomi sat down at the large desk in the center. She opened her notes, studying them as she nibbled on the popsicle.

Huh. He was right. The soda flavor _is_ good.

Normally, she went for the Calpis Ice Bar, a sweet yet somewhat acidic popsicle. Similar to the company's yogurt flavor-like soft drink. Today, however, she decided to try one of the many flavors of Garigari-kun.

After she finished the popsicle, she went to throw out the stick but stopped after seeing some writing on it.

_Winner!_

How lucky. Well, it's not like she would go back to the store today, and she most certainly wouldn't save the stick until she went back next week. It was a bit of a waste, but she didn't mind. It's wasn't like she was short of money.

Her mind went back to the boy at the convenience store.

She had met boys like him before. The overly eager and overly cheerful type. The ones that didn't take her warnings the first time and kept going. They were persistent. Although, they all eventually broke after a few more times.

Honestly, she kind of admired them. To be able to persist in such adversity and after being shown such hostility.

She didn't know if it was because they were truly determined, or if it was because they were just plain stupid. Perhaps it was a combination of both.

She didn't exactly hate those types, but they tended to be much more annoying than the rest. Boys usually chose one of two options: Forget about her, or hate her. She didn't particularly care for either, but the persistent ones took far too long choosing which one to do.

Oh well, at least they were just persistent. Persistent ones were annoying for sure, but they weren't the worst. The worst were the persistent ones that turned into stalkers. _Those _were the ones she had to look out for, but those types were often very obvious. Hitomi could usually tell from the first interaction whether or not she'd have to deal with a potential stalker.

Nishinoya Yuu didn't seem like one of those.

Then again, Hitomi had been wrong before.

Because one week later, he was waiting outside the convenience store, his eyes lighting up when he saw her.


	3. Chapter 3

Nishinoya Yuu didn't seem like one of the stalker types. Hitomi really hoped that he wasn't, but she grew uneasy at seeing him waiting outside of the convenience store.

His eyes lit up when he saw her. Both of his arms flew up into the air, energetically waving at her. His laughter reached Hitomi's ears.

The girl blinked a couple times, trying to figure out the best course of action. After a moment of thought, she turned around and prepared to head back home. She could live without some snacks for a couple of days.

Her actions caused Nishinoya to shout in surprise, and he chased after her. "Hey, wait! Where you going?!" He skid to a halt just in front of her.

Hitomi backed away so that they wouldn't be so close. "Somewhere _not_ here." She coldly answered.

Nishinoya just tilted his head in confusion, completely glossing over her unwelcoming tone. "But you just got here! You can't leave!" He exclaimed, wildly gesturing to the convenience store.

Just like the last time, Hitomi stepped to the side and passed him. "I can, and I will." She felt a pair of hands on her wrist, tugging her backwards. Thin and almost bony, yet incredibly warm.

She swerved her head back, glaring at the boy. "Don't make me call the police this time."

Nishinoya immediately released his grip, his hands flying into the air as if in surrender. "Woah! Okay, okay! Sorry! But really, you just got here! You need to buy some stuff, right?" He asked innocently.

Well, it's not like she just walked to the convenience store for no reason, but it also didn't mean she absolutely had to buy anything. It would be a shame to go back home empty-handed and with a stomach devoid of snacks, but she could always send one of the servants at another time if she really wanted to. That just wasn't something she often did.

This little walk to the convenience store and buying whatever snack she wanted – even though it may be rather mundane to most – was the closest thing to being 'average' that Hitomi could ever do.

She didn't want to give that up so easily.

It appeared that Nishinoya had not made the connection that his appearance caused Hitomi's sudden change in plans. He was genuinely confused, leading her to believe that he had no ill intentions.

Still, it was a bit weird that he had clearly been waiting outside the store for her. How long had he been there? How many days had he come by? He had only seen her once, so there was no way he had known anything about her habits. Not only that, but today wasn't even the same day of the week that she had come last time, nor was it the same time of day.

This boy was either very lucky or just very diligent.

Hitomi sighed, not responding to him and walked back towards the store. Nishinoya smiled brightly, following her like a puppy. "Welcome." They were greeted by the cashier in a less than enthusiastic manner.

What Hitomi liked about this store in particular was not only its close proximity to her home, but the fact that it often had female employees. She had much less to worry about if there wasn't a man behind the register.

Of course, there was always a chance that there were people that swung the other way. It was just far less common.

Besides, Hitomi had politely asked the manager for the workers' schedules every month. Though a very odd and perhaps illegal request, the male manager eagerly obliged, hoping to gain some brownie points with such a beautiful girl.

Hitomi only visited the store on days when a female cashier was employed. So far, none of them had expressed an interest in her in a romantic way. So, she would continue to follow the schedule.

Taking a shopping basket, she went to the candy and chocolates aisle first. She paid no mind to Nishinoya who was still following after her. He hadn't said anything since coming inside, so neither would she.

Hitomi slowly travelled down the aisle, taking whatever she fancied. Some Konpeito sugar candies, Kasugai assorted gummies, and various flavors of Kit Kat bars.

She paused, crouching a little to look at and decide on which Kit Kat flavors she would take home this time. She tapped the middle of her bottom lip with her index finger as she read the flavors, her brow furrowing slightly in her concentration.

Eventually, her brows furrowed deeper in annoyance. Nishinoya had been staring at her intently this whole time. His concentration on her far greater than her concentration on the snacks. "It's impolite to stare." Hitomi stated, turning her head to glare at him.

The boy jumped, his deep concentration suddenly broken. "Ah! Sorry! I couldn't help it! You're just so beautiful!" He laughed boisterously, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Thanks…" Just as it is impolite to stare, it is also impolite to not express gratitude when paid a compliment no matter how shallow the compliment may be. "…but I'd appreciate it if you _didn't_ do that." Though a bit contradictory, Hitomi remained polite in her speech but cold in her delivery.

"Okay! How about if I just look at you a little!" It wasn't so much a question from Nishinoya, as it was a declaration. He looked at the snacks on the shelves, occasionally peering over at Hitomi to admire her.

What an odd boy.

"Don't you have something better to do with your time than to bother me?" Hitomi accused, moving down the aisle and turning to the next one. Finished with the candy and chocolates aisle, she went to the drinks aisle.

"Well, volleyball practice already ended and I hate studying! And I'd much rather be with you than studying, my beauty!" Nishinoya gazed up at her expectantly, eyes shining with wonder. Hitomi ignored him, choosing to place a few bottles of Calpis and Mitsuya Cider in her shopping basket instead.

The boy didn't seem to be fazed by her blatant disregard for him as he continued. "I'm Karasuno's libero and Guardian Deity!" He proudly declared, puffing out his chest with his thumb pointing to it.

Hitomi had no idea what those titles meant.

One seemed to be an actual position while the other was most definitely a childish name he thought of for himself.

Sports didn't interest Hitomi too much. Her cynical and unfriendly nature didn't match well with most sports' aspects of teamwork.

However, she was well versed in ballroom dancing, fencing, horseback riding, and other so called high-class physical activities. Not because she was interested in them, but because it was expected of her. Being in a high-class family herself, she had taken lessons in such activities since childhood.

She didn't bother to learn much about other sports, like volleyball for instance.

Hitomi didn't take much pride in her ability, but Nishinoya seemed to be the very opposite. Going so far as to bestow upon himself a grand title. Her thoughts were interrupted by another loud declaration of his.

"People call us the Fallen Crows, but we're making a comeback! You'll see! We're making Nationals this year!" Suddenly, he paused his speech, seemingly hatching an idea. "Hey! Why don't you come watch one of our games!"

"No, thank you." Hitomi immediately responded, leaving the drinks aisle to go to the ice cream freezers.

Nishinoya snapped out of the small shock to quickly follow her. "Why not? I promise our team is good! We'll definitely make it!" His eyes widened in realization. "Could it be that you don't know a lot about volleyball? I can teach you! Just come to one of my practices!"

"No, thank you." She repeated. "Also, you're being really loud."

The libero was about to just laugh it off when he noticed Hitomi's gaze travelling past him. She was looking at the cashier.

The woman probably wasn't much older than the two of them. Maybe college? However, the tiredness in her eyes seemed to age her. The cashier held her hand to her head, like it was hurt. On the counter in front of her was a half-drunken bottle of Pocari Sweat. The energy drink was quite popular among athletes as well as people looking to cure a hangover.

Suddenly, the dots connected in Nishinoya's head.

Hitomi had accused him of being loud not just because she was annoyed at him. She had noticed that he was unintentionally hurting the hungover cashier with his volume.

As Hitomi picked out a few flavors of Garigari-kun popsicles, she saw from the corner of her eye that Nishinoya had left her. She breathed a slight sigh of relief, not bothered that it may have been her harsh words that sent him off. Finished with her convenience store run, she walked to the front counter and placed the basket on it for the cashier to ring up her items.

She paid for all the snacks and was almost out the door when Nishinoya's voice shouted out. "Just this, please!" The cashier winced a bit at his shouting, causing him to jump. "I mean! Just this, please!" He whisper-shouted, as if repeating the phrase in a lower voice would undo the damage.

The cashier handed him his one item, but he pushed it back at her while shaking his head. "It's for you!" He declared cheerfully.

The cashier lifted up the object to read the label. It was a spice container filled with curry powder. She looked at him, then back at the curry powder, then back at him. "Uhh…thanks…I guess? But what am I supposed to do with curry powder?" Utter confusion lacing her voice.

Nishinoya tilted his head. "Huh? Don't they say that curry powder helps with hangovers?"

He heard small peals of laughter from the entrance. Unable to contain it anymore, Hitomi had released some giggles behind her hand.

It was only his second time seeing her, but it was still the first time he had seen her smile, much less laugh! It was such a stark contrast to her constant glares and cold gazes.

Nishinoya thought he had died and gone to heaven. He was seeing an angel and her laughs were the sounds of the heavens flitting through his ears.

"It's supposed to be turmeric." She corrected him between laughs, snapping him out of it.

"E-Ehh!? Not curry powder?! I'll go buy another one!" He was about to race back deeper into the store when the cashier promptly stopped him, saying it was unnecessary and to just take the curry powder back.

He took it and walked out of the store, following after Hitomi. "I thought for sure it was curry powder…" He mused, inspecting the container of spice.

"Well, you were close at least. Most curry powders do contain some turmeric, but people with hangovers don't use just the spice itself. They need a turmeric drink like Ukon no Chikara. I guess it's the thought that counts." Hitomi joked, giggling a bit behind her hand again.

Nishinoya stared at her with big eyes, a small blush dusting his cheeks. When she noticed that he was looking at her, Hitomi immediately wiped the smile off her face and quickly turned to go in the direction of her house.

The libero followed her, shouting his thoughts. "You're even more beautiful when you smile like that! You should do it more often! And you're super nice too! Are you my ideal girl or what?!"

Nice…that was something Hitomi hadn't been called in a long time.

"I was hardly being nice to you this whole time." She admitted, but with no remorse.

"But you noticed that lady had a hangover, didn't you? That's why you said I was being loud! That was really cool of you!" He smiled at her, his eyes sparkling in admiration.

Hitomi stared at him for a bit and then looked forward again. "I was mostly saying it because I found you annoying."

That may have been true, but she didn't deny the whole hangover part.

"Why are you following me? Don't you live in the opposite direction?" She accused him, remembering that he walked off the opposite way their last encounter.

"Yeah, but I can't let a girl walk home by herself! Especially not this late!" Nishinoya exclaimed.

Hitomi sighed. The walks to and from the convenience store were the most 'average' thing she could do in her life, but they were still far from average. Though it may seem like it, she was never actually alone when outside. Her bodyguards were littered around the neighborhood, keeping a watchful eye on her.

In fact, when Hitomi had pulled out her phone and threatened to call the police those times, she had secretly been threatening to press a button that would alert her bodyguards.

It was a hassle, but it was the only way her servants would let her out of the house without direct supervision. It had taken her years to get their consent, and these were the conditions they set.

At first glance, it may have seemed heartfelt that they cared about her safety so much. In reality though, it had more to do with their job. If anything were to happen to Hitomi, they would all, no doubt, lose their job. Perhaps even worse.

Still, at least Hitomi was allowed this one small luxury.

"You really don't need to do that. My house is—" She was about to say, 'not far' but abruptly stopped herself. In case Nishinoya did turn out to be one of the stalking types, it would be really bad to let that slip. "Anyways, I can get home by myself. Thank you." She recovered.

She wasn't usually this careless. She had always been on top of things.

There was just something about Nishinoya that made her lower her guard.

His attitude and aura was completely…genuine. He didn't have ill intentions or ulterior motives. He expressed real amazement towards her. It wasn't exactly innocence, but it was maybe something along those lines?

Or maybe he was just genuinely an idiot and that made Hitomi see him as less of a threat.

Either way, she needed to send him off. "Please, don't follow me or I really will call the police this time." She threatened, though she really meant her bodyguards.

"Okay, okay! Girls sure are sensitive about guys coming to their house, huh? Tsukiko-chan was like that with Ryu too!" He surmised, not taking into account her very real threat.

That really wasn't what Hitomi was bothered about, but if that's what it took to get him to leave her alone, then she'd take it.

"Then, at least tell me your name!" He requested. It was true, he still hadn't known her name this entire time.

"Good night." Hitomi coldly replied, quickly walking away from him.

"Can I come see you again!?" Nishinoya shouted after her. She turned around and narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm sure you'd come here even if I told you not to."

"So, in other words, you're saying I can! Yes!" The libero pumped his fists and dashed off in the direction of his house. "See you again, my beauty!" He shouted in the distance.

Hitomi sighed and shook her head, pulling out a Garigari-kun popsicle to nibble on during her walk home.

Nishinoya Yuu…What a strange boy.


	4. Chapter 4

Nishinoya Yuu was a strange boy, indeed.

Once again, Hitomi paused a distance from the convenience store when she saw the short boy waiting outside. She weighed her options. This was now the third time seeing him and the second time he had deliberately waited for her.

Before she could decide on what to do, Nishinoya had noticed her. His eyes lit up immediately and his face brightened up with a huge smile. Just like last time, he lifted up both arms to wave energetically at her.

Hitomi noticed that his arms sported several scrapes and dark bruises. Perhaps it was a result of his volleyball practices? Before she could think on it more, the boy dashed up to her. "Hello, Miss Beautiful! Here to buy snacks again?" He shouted enthusiastically.

…Miss Beautiful? Well, that was original. Hitomi wondered if he had thought of other ridiculous nicknames for her because he still didn't know her name. It wouldn't be surprising, considering he called himself Karasuno's Guardian Deity.

"Do you actually just stand outside and wait here every night, hoping that I might come by?" Hitomi asked, ignoring his earlier question. She laced her question with a bit of disgust, thinking that it may deter him in the future.

Unfortunately, it didn't have that effect at all. "Yeah?" Nishinoya replied innocently, tilting his head a bit. He still had that bright smile on his face, showing that he found absolutely nothing wrong with any of this.

Hitomi's face now openly showed real disgust. "That's _really_ creepy…" She coldly remarked, causing the libero to flinch. She could almost see her words physically piercing through him.

"Cree—! But I don't have a choice! I don't know your name, or your phone number, or what school you go to! This is the only way I could meet you!" His eyes widened, as if a lightbulb had just popped up above his head. "So, why don't you tell me your name today!"

"No, thank you." Hitomi immediately replied, just as she always did. Rather than its usual effect of hurting boys, Nishinoya took it all in stride. He merely laughed it off, not thinking that she might actually dislike him at all.

"Oh, well! I can always just keep calling you Miss Beautiful, because you are!" The boy gasped, thinking for a moment. "Wait…you're not married, right? Because then I'd have to call you Mrs. Beautiful instead of Miss!" He stepped closer, his neck straining back so that he could look up at her.

He was asking this genuinely, real concern on his features. Considering his last comment, however, this concern was not for something Hitomi would have expected. He was more concerned that he was using the wrong honorific rather than the fact that there was a possibility of Hitomi being married, of all things.

"You would hit on a married woman?" Hitomi asked him dubiously, wondering if he truly was only concerned about addressing her with the wrong honorific. Was this boy right in the head? Did he have all of his priorities straight?

Nishinoya clutched his hand into a fist, a fire burning in his eyes. "Nothing can stand in the way of my love!"

…Nishinoya Yuu was a strange boy, but he was also a complete idiot.

That was what Fukumoto Hitomi had deduced. She had met many other boys that acted similarly to him. They had bothered her constantly, trying to find out where she would be and when. They had camped out at places she frequented just like Nishinoya did.

The main difference though was that those other boys had much more sinister ulterior motives and alarming intentions. They had been much creepier, many of them being or eventually becoming stalkers. They had persisted on being close to her because of a disturbing form of obsession.

Nishinoya, on the other hand, exhibited no sign of such unsettling feelings. In fact, his feelings seemed innocent. Almost childish, even. Like he had finally found another person to be playmates with.

Hitomi had thought this the last time they met, but today's encounter only confirmed her suspicions. Nishinoya Yuu acted on impulse, never thinking that his actions may be taken the wrong way. He simply believed that this was the way to show his 'love.'

Of course, most people would think his actions were sweet and he did them because he was truly in love with Hitomi. To Hitomi, however, it was just because he was truly in idiot. The boy really didn't know any better. Maybe that was why she didn't feel so threatened by him or wasn't as hostile to him. They were even having conversations or playful banters, if one could even call their encounters that.

Well, it could always be worse, and Hitomi was thankful that it wasn't.

With that thought, she walked into the convenience store with Nishinoya hot on her trail. Unfortunately, things really did get worse like she thought they could.

Standing at the register was not the female employee that was supposed to be scheduled for tonight. Instead, it was the middle-aged, sleazy manager.

Hitomi should've turned around before when she had the chance.

"Welcome…" The manager greeted languidly and without any spirit as he slouched on the counter. It was clear that he didn't want to be manning the cashier at all, regardless of whether or not he was scheduled for today.

Upon seeing Hitomi, the man quickly straightened up and frantically fixed his receding hair. Deciding to lean one arm on the counter and the other arm on his waist in what he believed to be a 'cool' pose, he greeted her. "Hitomi-chan~~~! It's so nice to see you again!"

"_The feeling is __**not**__ mutual._" Normally, she would have said this aloud without any remorse, but she had to stay on the manager's good side. After all, he's the one that gives her the employee schedules every month so that she knows when and when not to visit the store. If she were to treat him like she does everyone else, she would most definitely lose that luxury of knowledge.

"It's…nice…to see you too, Ueda-san…" Her words were the exact opposite of what she was thinking. She struggled to get the words out, but managed to do so with a bit of hesitation. Luckily, the manager was so distracted by her beauty that he hadn't noticed how uncomfortable she was.

It was moments like these where Hitomi was a little thankful for being deemed 'beautiful.' Although, it didn't mean much since her beauty was what got her in this mess in the first place.

Even though Hitomi's discomfort went unnoticed by the manager who was trying to impress her, it did not go unnoticed by Nishinoya. Despite not having known her for long, he could easily tell she was behaving differently. She was trying to smile and be cordial with the manager, but it came out as more of an uncomfortable grimace.

Her real smiles were much more beautiful.

His growing concern for her was coupled with a searing anger at the manager. Nishinoya did _not_ appreciate how the older man was looking at her. It disgusted him, and he was sure that Hitomi was feeling even more disgusted, being the subject of the man's…_perverse_ stares. Nishinoya's slight frown was slowly turning into a glare the more he saw how the manager was acting.

"Please Hitomi-chan, I've asked you before to call me Gorou!" The man requested as he leered at her.

Hitomi wanted to call for her bodyguards so much. "Ahh…I couldn't possibly do that. After all, you're _so much older than me_." Her tone was polite enough, but she emphasized her last words, hoping that they would remind the man of his age and how inappropriate this was.

It didn't. "Age is just a number, Hitomi-chan! But I know why you can't. You're just shy is all! How cute~~!" He cooed, making the girl almost shiver in revulsion. Every time he said her name, her body almost had a physical reaction of repulsion.

Hitomi had never come to the store in her school uniform before and she rarely ever came when the manager was here, so she wasn't sure if the older man really knew how old she was.

Thinking on it, she didn't know which option would be better. If he _did _know that she was still in high school, then his actions would be even more disturbing. If he _didn't_ know, then Hitomi wasn't sure if she really wanted to tell him because if she did, then he might not consent to giving her the employee schedules every month. This would ruin her ability to come to the store at times where she would be least likely to run into problems.

"Wasn't Fumio-san scheduled for tonight?" Hitomi inquired, quickly changing the subject.

The manager scowled, his demeanor changing rapidly at the mention of the woman. "That old hag is such a slacker! She called in today, something about her back problems acting up. Like I would believe that! That's why I had to come in today, but I guess it's worth it since I got to see you, Hitomi-chan~!"

Gross.

The young girl narrowed her eyes, almost rolling them at him before swiftly changing back to a neutral look before he would notice. Of all the employees at this store, the elderly Fumio was probably the one that worked the hardest and the one that Hitomi enjoyed the most. It was a little awkward with the sweet woman constantly trying to set Hitomi up with her grandson, but that was far better than being hit on by some sleazy, middle-aged man. At least the old lady had more pure intentions.

The manager leaned forwards, and Hitomi desperately wanted to back away. "Anyways, enough about that old hag! I want to know more about you, Hitomi-chan! How about you finally give me your number?"

Nishinoya, who had been silent by her side this entire time, suddenly jumped in front of her to put more distance between her and the manager. He was slightly crouching, as if he was on the prowl and waiting to attack. Hitomi thought his eyes turned red for a moment as he literally growled at the older man, completely bearing his teeth.

"What the—?! Who the hell are you!?" The man shouted in surprise. Looking down at the boy, he noted his height. "A junior high student…? No, maybe…elementary?"

The libero was now mad at two things: how this man was looking at Hitomi, and now about him belittling him for his height. "I'M A SECOND-YEAR AT KARASUNO HIGH SCHOOL!" He shouted angrily.

Nishinoya was about to continue when he felt a hand on his wrist pulling him backwards. It was thin and soft. He turned around to see Hitomi bowing slightly at the manager.

"My apologies, Ueda-san, but I'm in a bit of a rush today. Please excuse us." Hitomi didn't wait for a response before pulling Nishinoya away to one of the aisles. Of course, she wasn't actually in a rush to go anywhere in particular. She just didn't want to be _here_.

"Oh, of course! I'll be waiting for you right here when you need to check out!" They heard the manager call out behind them. When they were deep enough in the aisle, Hitomi let go of Nishinoya's wrist and let out a deep sigh. One of distress, relief, and annoyance.

The libero was about to ask her if she was okay when she instantly recomposed herself and got right to picking snacks out. Unlike the last time, she didn't take time to concentrate on the various snack flavors. She simply saw the brand name and threw it into the shopping basket, rushing to move through the aisles and trying to get out of the store as soon as possible.

After not even five minutes, Hitomi returned to the front of the store.

"So, about getting your number…" The older man probed again. It seemed like he was ringing up her items as slow as he possibly could so that he could spend more time with her. It was a good thing that she took fewer snacks than usual.

Hitomi smiled at the man, but she was clearly still uncomfortable. "I'm sorry Ueda-san, but I really don't use my phone that often. I only have it for my family." It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't exactly a complete lie either. She had a smartphone, so she often played games on it. As for contacting people, the only contacts on her phone were her servants' numbers and various business numbers since she didn't have any friends. Honestly, she really didn't want anybody's number anyways. Especially not this manager's.

The older man didn't give up. "Well, if you don't use your phone that often, then there's no harm in having my contact info is there? It'll just be saved on your phone, that's all!"

Hitomi was about to respond when a hand was slammed onto the counter between them. Nishinoya had slapped a small piece of paper onto the surface. "If you want a number so badly, then here's mine!" He shouted at the man.

"…"

Taking this moment of shock as a chance, Hitomi hastily grabbed the bag of snacks and left money on the counter. She didn't care to wait for the change.

"Oh! Hitomi-chan, wait!" The manager called out, but the girl was already out of the store. The man looked back at the shorter boy, glaring at him.

Nishinoya met his glare with equal intensity. His finger pulled down on one of his bottom eyelids as he stuck his tongue out at the man childishly and stomped out.

He saw Hitomi standing a bit away from the store's entrance. Running up to her, he asked if she was okay. When she nodded at him, he continued. "Man, that guy was such a creep!" The boy commented. The girl wanted to laugh since she had accused him of being creepy just earlier when he was waiting for her outside the store.

Still, she would take interacting with Nishinoya over the manager any day.

Not wanting to dwell on the topic any further, Nishinoya looked over at her excitedly. "So, your name's Hitomi?! It's just as beautiful as I thought it'd be! It really suits you!"

Like she hadn't heard that one before.

Although she appreciated Nishinoya's more naïve and childlike demeanor, it didn't stop her from rolling her eyes at that. Yet, it was because of his nature that his comment seemed more genuine than other people who had told her the same thing.

She was a bit bothered about him knowing her name now, but it couldn't be helped. She didn't want him to start calling her by her first name, but she also didn't want to reveal her full name.

Nishinoya was jumping up and down excitedly. "Yes! I know your name now, Hitomi-san!" He stopped to frown a bit. "I don't like that I had to hear it from that creepy dude, but I know your name now!" His frown quickly disappeared into a full smile. "But I can keep calling you Miss Beautiful if you want!"

His innocent laughter even caused Hitomi to smile a bit, though he missed it since it was so small and it was getting dark. "That's unnecessary. You also don't have to use 'san' with me. We're probably the same age anyways." She responded.

Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand, but she had realized her mistake too late.

Nishinoya's eyes sparkled with delight. "You're a second-year like me?! Awesome! I'm learning so many things about you today, Hitomi-chan!"

His childlike enthusiasm really was too dangerous. It made Hitomi let her guard down and she made mistakes she never would have before.

Well, it could always be worse.

She reached into her bag of snacks and pulled out a small bottle, handing it to Nishinoya. "Aloe vera gel…?" He questioned, reading the label.

"Aloe vera gel can help to speed the healing of bruises…It's also a thank you for helping me deal with Ueda-san…" She explained, looking away in slight embarrassment.

Nishinoya instantly lifted his arms up to inspect them, remembering that he had been getting new bruises from all of the spike-block receives that he had been practicing. He looked at his arms, to Hitomi, to his arms, and back to Hitomi. Tears comically welled up in his eyes. "Hitomi-chaaaaaaan!"

"…It's really not that big of a deal…You don't have to pay me back either. It's just a small bottle." She responded, a little weirded out by him.

She didn't think it was a big deal, but Nishinoya certainly did. He was overjoyed by her kindness. It was just like what she did for that hungover cashier last time. She was looking out for people in her own way without anyone having to say anything to her. She may not think so, but only truly kind people did what she did.

"Thanks, Hitomi-chan! You really are such a cool and nice girl! And smart too! I didn't know aloe did that. My mom has tons of aloe drinks in the fridge. You mean to tell me I could've been rubbing that stuff on my arms all this time and my bruises would just disappear!?" Nishinoya exclaimed.

Hitomi covered her mouth with her hand, giggling behind it. "First the curry powder thing…and now this? Only pure aloe vera can have healing properties for bruises. Stuff with additives won't do anything for you, so no, you can't heal your bruises with your mom's aloe drinks. Also, it's not instant. Your bruises will still be there, they'll just heal a bit faster than normal with the aloe vera gel." This boy really was an idiot.

Nishinoya blushed, but it wasn't because of embarrassment for being corrected again. It was because Hitomi was just so beautiful when she smiled and laughed like that.

He wondered once more if he had died and an angel had come down to guide him to heaven.

After her small bout of laughter, Hitomi briskly bowed to him and turned around, rushing to go back home. She turned around when he called her name again.

"Hitomi-chan! Thanks again! I'll come see you another time! And I'll protect you from that creepy guy if he's here next time!" He waved energetically at her.

The girl stared at his wide, closed-eye smile. She gave a small smile of her own, shaking her head in defeat. "Do whatever you want." She called back as she went off in the direction of her house.

Nishinoya's eyes followed Hitomi's retreating form until she was no longer in sight. Releasing a deep sigh of admiration, he looked down at the bottle of aloe vera gel in his hands. His smile grew even bigger, if that were possible.

He pumped his fists and jumped in victory. The boy ran back home, the smile on his face never fading even a little.


	5. Chapter 5

Another day of school had gone by and a few more confessions were thrown at Hitomi. She went through it all with no problem and plenty of apathy. The one part she did look forward to, however, was her time in the school's library.

While most kids either went off to their after-school club activities or hung out with friends, Hitomi studied. Isolating herself and having loads of free time, one of the few things she could do to occupy so much of that time was to study. It wasn't that she really liked to do it or anything. It was just something she could do with all this time.

She didn't particularly like being cooped up in her house all day though, so she signed up for prep schools. On days that she didn't have prep school, she would opt to stay in her school's library to browse the endless array of books.

She read all genres, from science fiction, to horror, to biographies, and anything else. There was a nook in the library that was a bit sectioned off from the rest of the room and hidden by the shelves. Of course, her many admirers and stalkers eventually found her little spot, but it was rare nowadays for her to be bothered here.

Most students chose to stay away from the library since many didn't have too much interest in using their free time to study. Those that did, tended to keep to themselves as this was one of the few quiet places they could study in. Although, some of them would eye Hitomi from afar every once in a while. It didn't matter to her, so long as they didn't actually try to talk to her.

As always, some people didn't have that kind of self-restraint. Coming to the library with no intention of studying and every intention of catching Hitomi's attention, these people caused a huge disturbance in the quiet place. As such, they would be sternly escorted out by the head librarian.

So, the school's library very quickly became one of Hitomi's precious places to relax.

Today was one such day to do so. Walking along the aisles, she searched the shelves high and low for any books that may interest her. With how many books she's read and with the pace that she does, Hitomi probably read through half of the books already.

With a stack of about three books, she was ready to head into her little nook of the library when a certain title caught her eye.

_Volleyball Fundamentals: A Better Way to Learn the Basics_

"_I'm Karasuno's libero and Guardian Deity!"_

Hitomi blinked, her thoughts on the memory disappearing. She stared at the spine of the book, and then to the stack of books in her hands. Her eyes going back and forth a few times, she ultimately decided to place the volleyball book on the bottom of the pile. It wasn't like she didn't have the strength to carry everything.

Well, she doubted she would get through all of these other books before she got to the volleyball one anyways. It was just a simple curiosity.

Going into her little nook, she took the book on the top of the pile and started her mental journey. It was at the middle of the second book when she got a text on her cellphone from her personal maid.

_From: Chiyo-san_

_Subject: When will you be home?_

_Text:_

_Good afternoon, Hitomi-sama. I can assume you are at the library, as you do not have prep school today. Approximately when will you arrive home? _

_Best regards, Chiyo._

She didn't have a specific time she would go back, but she replied with a time that she thought she would be back by.

Not that it really mattered. Hitomi always had a few bodyguards around her somewhere. They basically knew where she was at all times. So, the time she texted wasn't of much consequence to her.

She returned to her book, immersing herself in the world of words. After finishing the three books she had, Hitomi stood up from her seat and stretched. She stacked them into a neat pile to return them when she noticed the forgotten fourth book. The one about volleyball.

She stared at the book for a moment, contemplating on whether or not she should start it. She glanced out the window, noticing the deep reddish-orange of the sunset. Looking at her watch, she realized that she still had a bit of time before her self-imposed curfew.

Well, it wouldn't hurt to take a look at it, right?

Setting down the stack of books and sitting back down, Hitomi flipped to the first page of _Volleyball Fundamentals: A Better Way to Learn the Basics_.

Although the books titled implied that it would be suitable for beginners, the author still wrote it assuming that the reader would have at least a little more knowledge about the sport than a complete novice like Hitomi and left many things to be explained. For the things that she was still unsure about, she turned to her phone to search them up. She even came across a few helpful videos, plugging in her headphones so that she wouldn't disturb anyone.

This became a process. Reading through a bit of the book, coming across something that wasn't explained more in depth, and looking it up on her phone. After reading much of the basics of the game, she came across the section about player positions and her mind flitted back to him.

"_I'm Karasuno's libero and Guardian Deity!"_

She flipped through the pages, looking for the word 'libero.'

'_The libero plays a special role in team defense and stands out on the court, usually wearing an opposite colored jersey. Playing only the three back row positions before substituting back to the bench, the agile libero handles shots from the other team. A digging and passing specialist, he or she controls the ball back to setters and hitters. The libero rarely ever comes close to the net and is usually the shortest player on the team.'_

Hitomi almost laughed at the end. She didn't know about the rest, but Nishinoya certainly seemed like he could fit the last part.

She smiled, internally apologizing to him because she knew that he had a complex about his height from his interaction with Ueda-san, the convenience store manager. She then wondered, her brows furrowing slightly and her index finger tapping the middle of her bottom lip.

Why was it that the libero was usually the shortest player on the team? It obviously wasn't a rule, but a trend that seemed pretty common. Was it because shorter players would never have the benefit of height? So, they worked especially hard at a position that didn't need it? But then, wouldn't a tall libero be beneficial too? Their longer legs could certainly get them across the court and to places that shorter players could never reach. Then again, if they really were so tall, they'd probably be playing one of the other positions.

Shrugging her shoulders, Hitomi continued reading about the libero position.

'_Other than the basic underhand and overhand receives, the libero is usually the best at other special types of receives like the 'pancake' – An emergency defensive move where a player anticipatorily lays his or her hand on the floor (palm facing down) with the intention of having the ball bounce off his or her hand instead of the floor.'_

Hitomi looked at her hand in slight awe, spreading it open and slowly turning it to observe it. The human palm is about two and a half centimeters thick, so it seemed rather amazing to her that volleyball players could receive the ball in such a way.

Her thoughts went back to him.

Every time he had grabbed at her wrist to stop her from leaving, she always noticed how thin and almost bony his hands were. She surmised that, just like the rest of him, his hands were probably a little smaller than most others. A somewhat hidden advantage for his position.

As she was examining the size of her palm, she noticed the time on her watch. Her eyes widened as she nearly jumped out of her seat. Was it really this late already? Her head swiveled to look out the window, her reflection looking back at her with how dark it was.

She sighed and texted her personal maid that she would be later than her previously specified time. Thinking a bit, she decided that she would stop by the convenience store. It was already late, and the store was on the way to her house. Her stash was also in dire need of restocking, seeing as she bought so little last time so that she could get away from the manager.

Returning the books back to their rightful shelves, Hitomi stared at the last book in her hands.

The volleyball book.

The girl blinked a few times, debating on whether or not she should check it out and bring it back home. She shook her head, ultimately deciding against it and hastily put it back where she found it.

She had gotten lost deep in a book plenty of times before, but they were always books that heavily interested her. Not one that she picked up off a whim.

It seemed like Hitomi was thinking about Nishinoya Yuu a lot more than she thought she would.

As much as she would like to stop doing that, it would be very difficult to do so when he was squatting outside the front of the convenience store when she arrived.

As always, he was sporting a simple outfit composed of a mono-colored T-shirt and black shorts. As he was squatting, his arms were planted straight on top of his knees. He had a tell-tale white bag from the convenience store dangling from the fingers of his right hand.

The big difference was that he didn't rush up to Hitomi as she walked closer to the store like a dog would when its owner finally came back home.

She tilted her head, finding that strange despite only having met Nishinoya a grand total of three times. Upon closer inspection, Hitomi realized that his eyes were closed. It wasn't until she was right in front of him that she heard light snoring.

She would have laughed at that if she weren't so amazed first. Someone could fall asleep in this kind of position? She wondered if he could sleep standing completely upright like a horse. She almost laughed at that too. Seems like she was comparing him to animals a lot.

Hitomi chose to squat in front of him, keeping her legs together and making sure to tuck her skirt behind her knees so that it would get trapped in between when the back of her thighs met her calves. She placed her briefcase book bag on top of her thighs, her elbows leaning on it as she placed her chin in the cup of her hands.

She observed the snoring boy, noticing that the bruises on his arms and legs had healed significantly from the last time she saw him. The previously dark blotches of skin were reduced to a very faint yellowish color.

Hitomi wondered if he had used the aloe vera gel she gave him, and she smiled a bit when she remembered how excited he was that night.

She flinched and immediately looked back at his face when his head shifted a bit. Her brows furrowed in confusion when she saw that he was wriggling his mouth in an odd way. The boy was still asleep, but his mouth seemed to have a mind of its own.

Hesitating for a moment, Hitomi lifted her hand to gently poke at his cheek. She quickly drew back her hand when the wriggling of his mouth became more intense. Her hands flew to her mouth, trying to stifle her giggling.

He was eating in his sleep! Perhaps he was dreaming about eating. She had heard of sleepwalking but not sleep-eating! To test this theory, Hitomi whispered a bunch of foods at him. "Rice…Tonkatsu…Soba…Mackerel…Yakiniku…"

The girl had to cover her mouth again at the last one. She almost let her giggles slip through when she saw a bit of drool coming out of Nishinoya's mouth at the mention of grilled meat. With each food, his 'chewing' grew bigger and bigger.

Hatching an idea, Hitomi tried to see if the opposite effect would happen if she started whispering foods that were commonly disliked. "Celery…Sea cucumber…Cilantro…Natto…" When none of those foods had the desired effect, the girl tilted her head and frowned a bit.

Her index finger tapped the middle of her bottom lip as she looked up in thought, trying to come up with more foods that people commonly disliked. She gave a small gasp when she thought of something. Leaning closer to him, she whispered, "…Onions."

This time, she couldn't hold it in and her laughter burst through. At the mention of onions, Nishinoya's face had contorted itself. His brows drew together, his lips turned into a deep frown, and it almost felt like a gloomy aura had surrounded him. Despite the clear displeasure of the food, he was still 'chewing' in his sleep, albeit much slower this time.

Nishinoya's eyes slowly opened as he woke up from Hitomi's laughter and also quite possibly from the nightmare of having to eat the greatly loathed onions.

He was initially very groggy, but he snapped out of his daze almost immediately when he realized Hitomi was in front of him. He would have shouted out in excitement at seeing her if he wasn't so busy admiring her beauty.

In her bout of laughter, Hitomi had yet to notice that he had woken up and was now staring at her in awe.

Nishinoya wondered if he was still dreaming. If he was, he hoped that it would never end. She was just so beautiful, and her smile was even better. He didn't know what she was laughing at, but he didn't care. He just hoped that she would always be able to smile like that in front of him. Better yet, he hoped that she would always be able to smile like that because of him.

She was in her school uniform too! Man, was she pretty! He chose to go to Karasuno because the girls' uniforms were cute, but damn, he should've gone to Hitomi's school! She made the Karasuno girls' uniform pale in comparison.

As she calmed down, Hitomi finally noticed that Nishinoya was awake and staring at her. It was unsettling, but not necessarily in an all bad way.

She was used to getting stares from people. Curious stares from strangers on the street wondering if she were some sort of model. Heated glares from girls that were envious of her. Unwanted ogling from men undressing her with their eyes.

Nishinoya's stares, however, didn't make her feel uncomfortable like all those other stares. He didn't look at her like the rest did. Just like how she thought about the rest of his personality, his eyes held an air of childlike innocence.

He wasn't looking at her with contempt. He wasn't looking at her in a vulgar way. He was looking at _her_.

_Just_ her.

Like how a child would see their favorite cartoon hero appear on television. Like how a person would look at the floating cherry blossoms during the spring season.

Like how someone would look at the person they love with complete admiration and longing desire.

Unable to meet his eyes any longer, Hitomi looked away in embarrassment and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um…Are you alright…?" She tentatively called out to him, causing the boy to flinch and snap out of his reverie.

Finally realizing that this wasn't a dream, the libero shouted out in surprise. "H-Hitomi-chan! What are you doing here?!" He noticed that there was still some drool left on his lip. He quickly used the collar of his shirt to wipe at his mouth, hoping that he hadn't made a fool of himself in front of the girl he likes.

Hitomi felt a bit guilty at his action, seeing as she was the one to blame by whispering different foods to him while he was sleep-eating. She pulled out a handkerchief, handing it to him.

Nishinoya frantically waved his hands about, refusing to accept the handkerchief. Something about 'not having the right to taint Hitomi's belongings.'

When he was done collecting himself, he screamed again, causing the girl to jump. Looking at him with confusion and worry, she followed his eyes to the white shopping bag in his hands.

"The Garigari-kun! Noooo!" He shouted in despair as Hitomi looked into the bag. There were a couple of Garigari-kun popsicles, but the packaging looked very misshapen. Instead of the rectangular block that they should have been in, the ice cream was reduced to a soppy mess from having melted.

The girl looked back at him when he suddenly clapped his hands together and bowed his head behind them. "I'm sorry, Hitomi-chan! These were supposed to be for you, but I let them melt! Please feel free to punish me in any way you want!"

He seemed truly remorseful, but he also seemed a little too excited after saying that last part. Deciding to let it go, Hitomi asked, "For me?"

The libero nodded eagerly. "To repay you for that aloe vera gel! It really worked! Look!" He raised his arms and one leg to her, showing off the healing skin excitedly.

Hitomi slightly grimaced. "That's alright. You really don't have to do that. It wasn't that expensive anyways." Suddenly, her brows furrowed as she thought about his statement. "…Wait…Have you been getting extra Garigari-kun popsicles every day since then…?"

"…Yes?" The boy replied uncertainly, causing Hitomi to sigh when her suspicions were confirmed. "Then…what did you do with all of those popsicles when I didn't show up?" She was hesitant to ask, but she needed to know.

"I ate them! I would've done the same today, but then I fell asleep!" Nishinoya sheepishly laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Hitomi looked at him with clear disgust. "_Every_ day? You ate _all _of them? That's really unhealthy."

The boy just laughed it off. "But it'd be a waste if I didn't eat them! And I couldn't bring them home in time before they melted because I was waiting for you the whole time." Hitomi felt slightly guilty again, but she soon brushed it off because it wasn't like she knew he was doing this. She wasn't deliberately avoiding him and causing him to waste his money on popsicles.

Nishinoya looked back into the bag. "Aw man! What a waste!" He quickly looked up in realization. "Wait! You're here this time! I'll just buy some more right now!" He got up to run into the store, but Hitomi pulled him back down.

"No…that's okay. I'll just take these." Hitomi quietly suggested, taking the bag from his hands.

The boy tilted his head in confusion. "Whaaaat?! But those are all melted! I couldn't possibly give you that!" He exclaimed, fully determined to give her a proper gift of appreciation.

Hitomi just shook her head, smiling gently. "These are fine. They're not leaking out of the wrappings, so I can just refreeze them when I get back home. Thank you…Nishinoya-kun…" She didn't meet his eyes out of embarrassment, choosing instead to look at the tuft of dirty blond hair covering the middle of his forehead.

Even so, she could still see the very distinct shade of red growing on his face.

They both jumped at the sound of her ringtone. Pulling out her phone, Hitomi read the caller ID.

_Chiyo-san_.

It was late, and it was far later than the time Hitomi told the woman she would be back by. Quickly standing up, Hitomi bowed to Nishinoya, wishing him a good night.

The boy was still love struck, unable to react in time before she ran off.

He watched her go, his hand clutching at his shirt, right above his heart.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm looking for Hitomi-chan! Does she go here?! Do you know her?! Do you know where I can find her!?"

Hitomi froze in her tracks. She had just left school and was on her way toward the gates when she saw a small crowd of people near them.

Hitomi really believed that Nishinoya Yuu wasn't the stalker type, but she was now beginning to doubt herself.

The small crowd of people near the gates of the school had their heads tilted slightly downwards to look at the person shouting. Hitomi hoped that it wasn't him, but she could clearly recognize that loud and energetic voice of his.

She was just beginning to regret showing any semblance of kindness to him when she realized something.

The last time he saw her, she was in her school uniform.

She had gone to the convenience store from her school, having read a couple books in the library before leaving. It was already late, so she had decided to just go to the convenience store without stopping by her house first.

At the time, she hadn't thought everything out clearly and didn't realize that Nishinoya might be able to recognize her uniform. Unfortunately for her, it seemed like the boy had no problems figuring out where she went to school.

Hitomi sighed in annoyance and pinched the bridge of her nose to help relieve a bit of her stress.

Well, at least there was still some hope that Nishinoya wasn't a _complete_ stalker. His appearance was the result of her lack of foresight. So, if anybody was to blame, it would be her.

The girl gave a final sigh, attracting some stares. When a couple people from the crowd had turned around to see her, they had parted slightly so that she saw Nishinoya behind them.

The libero's eyes instantly lit up, and his smile shined brightly.

Hitomi had looked even more stunning than he remembered. Last time, he had only seen her in her uniform when it was dark outside. Seeing her in the day time now, it really enlightened him.

It seemed like Hitomi grew more beautiful each time he saw her, and he would cherish every blessed moment he got to witness her beauty.

"Hitomi-chaaaan!" He ran up to her with open arms, preparing to smother her with his love. When he reached her, he swung his arms inward for a hug but only managed to hug himself and the air since Hitomi sidestepped him.

Not fazed in the slightest, Nishinoya immediately recovered and turned back around. "Hitomi-chan! I missed you!"

His bold statement caused everyone's eyes to widen. Even Hitomi was slightly flustered. The boy had always been very forward, but it was the first time he had ever said something like this. It drew the attention of the many students around them.

Hitomi glanced at her whispering classmates, choosing to ignore them. "What…are you doing here?" She asked him hesitantly, but needed to know the answer.

"To see you, of course!" Nishinoya replied with no hesitation, the smile on his face somehow growing even larger.

The girl sighed as she heard the gossip around her beginning to be more apparent. "And what about volleyball practice?" She asked.

"We have a day off to rest our muscles right before the Inter-High! So, I decided to come see you! I'm glad that the person I asked about your uniform got the right school!" Nishinoya happily explained.

Suddenly, Hitomi realized another thing. She had left the school right after the dismissal bell rang. Unlike many students who frantically packed away their belongings to leave the school as fast as possible, she always took her sweet time to do so. After all, it wasn't like she was ever in a rush to be anywhere.

Today, she hadn't stopped by the library or anywhere else before leaving the school. Yet, Nishinoya still caught her before she left. Even if he didn't have volleyball practice, schools still let out at basically the same time. Karasuno also wasn't particularly that close to Tohoku High School.

Hitomi took a brief moment to survey the area. She grew more confused when she saw that he hadn't come with a bike or any other form of transportation like a scooter or skateboard. She then examined the boy. His bright smile was still there, but he tilted his head in confusion as she just stared at him in disbelief.

There wasn't a drop of sweat on him.

He couldn't possibly have run here! It was far too fast! Even if he did, how could he not be sweating right now?!

Hitomi couldn't believe it. It should just be inhumanly possible to travel from Karasuno to Tohoku that quickly by foot…right?

Just as she was about to ask him, the voice of another boy interrupted her. It was a voice that she was very not fond of. It belonged to an especially persistent classmate who was one of the reasons why she had mapped out the entire school with special hiding places so she could eat her lunch in peace. "Hitomi-chan! Who's this? Your younger brother?"

Her classmate came up behind her, taking note of Nishinoya in front of him. "Aww, did he come to visit you? That's cute! What year is he in? Elementary school?" The boy observed Nishinoya and placed his hand on Hitomi's shoulder, slightly leaning on her. "Oh? Hang on, he's wearing a gakuran. So, maybe middle school then?"

The libero was about to burst out in anger when he suddenly felt a cold chill creep down his spine. The other boy had felt it as well, but with far greater impact.

Hitomi had simply looked at the hand on her shoulder and to the boy, but she sure did give him a fright. She said nothing, but her glare made the message loud and clear to him.

_Get your hand off of me._

Her classmate hastily pulled his hand back, as if he had burned it by touching her shoulder. He laughed nervously, hoping to alleviate the tension in the air.

Hitomi looked at the shoulder that her classmate's hand just vacated. Even though his hand was gone, it seemed like she was still looking at it with disgust.

Watching this interaction, Nishinoya realized something.

He hadn't been on the receiving end of one of Hitomi's ice cold glares in a while.

Of course, that might just be because he only sees her maybe once a week or so, if at all. Still, the past times that he saw her, she had graced him with a few small smiles that nearly made him melt on the spot. This realization made him immensely happy.

Hitomi's voice brought him back out of his little reverie. It was just as cold as her glare. "This is Nishinoya Yuu from Karasuno _High School_." She emphasized the last part, probably more for the libero's sake than for her own, which he very much appreciated.

Not only that, but the sound of his name coming from her lips was absolutely heavenly. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to take it if she ever introduced him as her friend.

Or even better, as her _boyfriend_.

The shorter boy quickly shook his head, ridding it of impure thoughts.

"O-Oh! High school! Right! U-Uh anyways…I should get going! I'll see you later!" Her classmate dashed off, having gotten too uncomfortable with her glaring. It seemed extra cold today.

Seeing him run away, Nishinoya was once again thankful and thought he was blessed that he wasn't at the brunt of Hitomi's scowling. His attention went back to her when she spoke to him.

"We should talk somewhere else. We're causing too much of a disturbance on school grounds." She walked off without waiting for his response.

The shorter boy looked around them, noticing that they had indeed garnered a lot of attention. A crowd was somewhat surrounding them and blocking the gate. Students who were uninterested in what was happening had to go all the way around or weave through the crowd just to try to leave the school.

Nishinoya smiled at Hitomi's retreating back. Just like always, she was thinking about others without being asked. Her words may have seemed a bit harsh at times, but they were good-natured at heart…usually.

Just as he always did, Nishinoya started following her like a puppy. He stopped after a few steps when he heard the whisperings of some students nearby.

"Ugh, there she is: Ice Queen Hitomi…"

"Haha, you mean Stone Cold Bitch Hitomi!"

"God, did you see how rude she was? Sora-kun was just trying to be nice! She didn't have to be so mean to him!"

"Totally! She may have a pretty face, but she's so ugly inside."

Nishinoya's bright smile instantly turned to one of anger. How could they talk about her like that?! They were clearly talking loud enough for Hitomi to hear too!

Not to mention everything they said was completely wrong! Hitomi was extremely kind, and there was nothing that would make him think differently about that.

He was about to give those people a piece of his mind when he felt Hitomi's soft hand tug at his wrist. He turned back to look at her with confusion.

She wasn't exactly glaring as much as she gave him an admonishing look. The girl shook her head at him, confusing him more. Although, he didn't struggle when she pulled him away from the gossiping students.

When they were finally away from school grounds, Nishinoya voiced his thoughts. "Hitomi-chan! Are you just gonna let them talk about you like that!? They were saying such horrible things, and they weren't true at all!"

The girl only scoffed, continuing to walk. "Why should I care about the opinions of people that don't know anything about me? I know who I am. I don't need other people to tell me what I'm like."

The shorter boy looked up at her in awe. She had an air of solidarity, and her eyes held nothing but unrelenting confidence.

Thinking about her words, he smiled and pumped his fists. That's right! Who cares about what other people think about you!

Man, Hitomi was kind and beautiful, but now he knows she's super cool too!

Suddenly the girl stopped walking, causing Nishinoya to stop as well. She turned to him, eyes narrowing and eyebrows furrowing slightly in doubt. "Besides, what makes you think that what they said was wrong? Also, why do you even care?" She asked skeptically.

"Of course they're wrong!" Nishinoya shouted adamantly. "You're super nice and cool! I bet they all just misunderstood you! I mean, I don't know what happens in your school, but the Hitomi I know is really kind and I don't like people talking bad about my friends!" He defended.

Hitomi raised a brow. "I've said this before, but I've hardly been that nice to you on multiple occasions. I don't really consider us friends." She knew that she had probably been very mean to him, but it was just in her nature. She had trained herself to be cynical so that she could push everyone away and wouldn't get hurt.

"That's not true!" He shouted again. He sure was getting fired up about this. "People might think you were being mean, but I talked to the guys on the volleyball team and they told me that I really was being creepy! I shouldn't have approached you like that, and I think any girl had the right to be mad at me! Sorry about that! I'll buy you a Garigari-kun, so please accept my apology!" He bowed to her energetically.

Hitomi just stood there in front of him. The ends of her lips curved up slightly as she almost felt like laughing at him for worrying about that after all this time. She made a mental note that he had been talking about her with his teammates. "Well, your friends are right about you being creepy. I can't believe you found out what school I go to and showed up like that. What are you, some kind of stalker?"

Nishinoya jumped up. "No! I swear I'm not! I remembered you in your uniform the other day so I asked around to see if anybody knew! I came to Tohoku to check!"

The girl hummed. "Well…if that's the case, then I suppose it's fine."

Nishinoya sighed in relief. "Geez, Ennoshita asked me the same question…I swear I'm not a stalker…" He mumbled.

"I have to ask you not to come to my school again though." Hitomi requested, interrupting his mutterings.

"Eh?! Why not?! Don't worry, you look super cute in your uniform!" He gave her a thumbs-up, assuming that she was just embarrassed to be seen in her school uniform.

"…That's not what I'm worried about." Hitomi frowned at him. "You were so loud that probably the whole school knows about you now. You defended me, too. If those people were saying that stuff about me, I'm sure you can imagine what they're saying about you because of that."

Nishinoya stared at her. The confidence in her eyes was still there, but there was also something else. He could have sworn that there was a brief flash of sadness in them, but it was gone before he knew it.

"So what?!" Nishinoya shouted back, slightly surprising her. "It's just like you said! You said you don't need to care about what other people say about you, so I'll do the same! I don't care what they say about me! The Hitomi I know is definitely a kind, cool beauty! One that tells me I'm too loud when around hungover cashiers and buys me aloe vera gel to help heal my bruises!"

His beaming smile made Hitomi look away in embarrassment. It's not like what she did was all that amazing or kind. He was blowing it way out of proportion.

"…So long as you know what you're getting into." She relented.

Nishinoya gasped in excitement, his eyes twinkling with delight. "So, I can come again?!"

The girl felt very uneasy about it, but Nishinoya had done nothing to really make Hitomi suspect him of anything foul. Even if she told him 'no,' she was sure that he'd find some other way to see her anyways. She sighed, hoping this decision wouldn't come back to bite her. "Do whatever you want."

"YESSSS!" The libero jumped all around, unable to contain his excitement.

Hitomi quickly spoke again, attempting to bring him down a notch. "I don't know how you got here so fast, but don't always expect to catch me on time."

His enthusiasm didn't tone down in the slightest. "That's okay! I'll just wait at the gates until you come!" He exclaimed.

She looked at him as if he had two heads. "Huh?! This isn't like the convenience store, you know!? It's not like I'll come later in the night. If I'm leaving school, then I'm definitely not coming back until the next morning!"

The boy paused. "…Oh…You're right…Haha! Then I'll just wait until it gets dark!"

"…Do whatever you want…" Hitomi sighed in exasperation as she put her face in her palm and shook her head.

Nishinoya Yuu truly was an idiot.


	7. Chapter 7

Hitomi reached the convenience store for the first time this week. She went there in just the same way that she normally would. She had returned from school, washed and changed into more comfortable clothes, completed her homework for the day, ate a lavishly prepared dinner, and walked to the convenience store with several hidden bodyguards surely following her every move.

As she entered the store, she greeted the elderly Fumio-san behind the counter as she always would. Taking a shopping basket, she travelled to the candy and chocolates aisle first, as per usual. She picked out her familiar favorites and then moved to the next aisle to do the same.

Everything she was doing was routine and regular. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Yet, something felt…off. When she reached the ice cream freezers and saw the Garigari-kun brand, it dawned on her.

This was the first time she had come to the store and _hadn't_ seen Nishinoya waiting for her.

She tilted her head, thinking on her encounter with him yesterday. He had basically ambushed her at her school, drawing a large crowd and unwanted attention. _"We have a day off to rest our muscles right before the Inter-High! So, I decided to come see you!"_

She nodded to herself, remember his words yesterday. So, the Inter-High should be today. Surely, he would be tired from his match or matches then.

Thinking back, Hitomi remembered the time that he had fallen asleep in front of the store while waiting for her. He must have been training and practicing extra hard for the upcoming tournament if his fatigue and constant new bruises were any indication. It was no wonder she didn't see him today when all the other times he had been so vigilant.

Her hand paused as she picked up a Garigari-kun popsicle, soda flavor.

Since when had her thoughts been so filled by him? When had she become so accustomed to his presence? Why was she even rationalizing why he wasn't here? She should have been overjoyed that she didn't have to deal with another flippant boy! Things were back to normal for once!

The girl gently shook her head and sighed, as if to collect herself. She should be enjoying this peace and quiet while she had the chance.

Unfortunately, this didn't last long because the doors to the store opened with a chime, welcoming Nishinoya Yuu. "Hitomi-chaaaaaaan!"

She flinched at his sudden loud voice, dropping the popsicle back into the ice cream freezer on accident. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, or rather, think about him in this case.

Hitomi slowly turned around, her eyes falling upon the libero. She noticed that yet another thing was unusual today. Instead of his normally swept-up hair, his hair was down in its natural state.

She blinked, wondering why he seemed shorter than usual. She realized that it was the hair. His swept-up hairstyle added illusionary height. Looking at it quickly, the style seemed like it would have added around ten centimeters to his height.

She held her tongue and decided not to comment on it, knowing full well how sensitive he was about that topic.

The boy dashed up to her with his usual bright eyes. "I'm so glad I managed to catch you today! I was super tired after our matches so I took a nap, but then I really wanted to see you to tell you about it!"

Hitomi almost laughed. He really did have the pure excitement of a child, but it wasn't exactly _childish_ per se. It was just a wonder how he could always be so positive about everything. Hitomi didn't think she got so excited about anything like that since she was child. Compared to her constant cynicism, it most certainly looked like an amazing feat. "I take it the first day of the Inter-High went well then?" She asked him as she returned to picking out popsicles from the freezer.

"We beat both Tokonami and Datekou! You should have come! You would have gotten to see me make some super cool receives! How about coming to see my match tomorrow?" Nishinoya exclaimed, slightly puffing out his chest with pride.

Hitomi glanced at him from the corner of her eye before going back to deciding the last flavor of Garigari-kun that she wanted. "No thanks." She bluntly responded.

"We'll be up against Seijoh, one of the top four in the prefecture! But we're definitely taking them down!" The boy continued, as if Hitomi didn't just clearly reject his offer. "It'll be even better than seeing us get revenge on Datekou! You definitely should come see it!"

"Revenge?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, against her better judgment. She shouldn't have encouraged him, but there was just something about his innocent excitement that made it difficult for Hitomi to treat him as harshly as she would any other boy.

Nishinoya nodded, the pride shining in his eyes. "Yeah! Last year, Datekou completely shut us out, but we paid them back today! We blasted through their Iron Wall!"

Finally deciding on the pear flavor, Hitomi moved to the check-out counter as she responded. "I see. That must have been satisfying." There wasn't much else she knew to say, nor did she really want to. She had no idea what this 'Iron Wall' meant, but she assumed that it wasn't an easy task to defeat them.

As she reached the counter, the elderly Fumio-san greeted her with a warm smile. "Hitomi-chan, it's good to see you again! On another one of your snack runs, I see!" She started the conversation happily, scanning the girl's items.

"Likewise, Fumio-san. How is your back? I came at another one of your shifts, but Ueda-san was covering for you. He told me that you took off because your back problems were acting up." Hitomi asked with concern. Of course, she would hate to lose another day in which she could freely visit the store without being hit on by a male cashier, but more importantly, she genuinely was worried about the old woman. She was one of the very few people that Hitomi could stand, even with her slightly overbearing nature.

The old woman just waved her hand dismissively at the girl. "Oh, don't you worry about me! It's just something that comes with old age. Instead, you worry about yourself! Be careful about all these snacks now, you hear? They could ruin your beautiful figure!" She lectured.

Hitomi just looked away uncomfortably, used to hearing her say this and about how she should treasure her youth more. "Yes, I understand." She said to appease the woman.

Fumio smiled and then turned her attention to Nishinoya who was strangely quiet, choosing to simply admire Hitomi's beauty. He looked like a child looking up to his hero, or a dog happily waving his tail as he looked up at his owner. She would have thought that the boy was in middle or even elementary school because of how small he was. Hearing his conversation with Hitomi, however, notified her that he was in high school. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but his loud voice was extra loud in the nearly empty store. "And who is this young man? Your boyfriend?" She asked curiously.

The libero turned to her, smile wide and eyes beaming, obviously excited at being assumed of being Hitomi's boyfriend. "Yes!" He shouted out without any thought.

Hitomi turned to look at him with borderline disgust, the displeasure clear on her face. The boy shrunk a little at that, but his excitement was still evident. "Well, actually no…" He corrected himself. "Not yet, at least! I will be soon!" He boldly stated.

"Ignore him." Hitomi instructed, doing the very same herself. "Hitomi-chaaaaan!" Nishinoya whined in response.

Fumio laughed. "He seems like a nice young man, but I have to say I'm a bit relieved to hear that! You know, I still haven't given up on setting you up with my lovely grandson! You'll have to get a boyfriend sometime!" She gave the girl a suggestive look.

Hitomi looked away uncomfortably again. "Fumio-san, please. We've been over this…" She reminded the woman gently. She was terribly averse to the idea, but she couldn't be disrespectful to such a kind old woman, no matter how nosy and overbearing she could be.

Before Fumio could respond, Nishinoya slapped his hands on the counter, leaning towards her eagerly. "Don't worry, granny! I'll definitely become Hitomi-chan's boyfriend one day! I can definitely make her happy!"

The boy yelped as Hitomi swiftly hit the back of his head to calm him down. "Stop talking to her as if she's my mother and you're asking permission or something. It's weird. Also, who said you were going to become my boyfriend?" She glared at him as he rubbed his head tenderly. Although, he was doing it with a strange happiness.

"Ahhh, getting hit by Hitomi-chan! It feels even better than when Kiyoko-san does it!" He breathed out, a weird satisfied aura exuding from him.

This time, Hitomi looked at him with open disgust. Again, with this 'Kiyoko-san.' Hitomi didn't know who she was, but she knew that Nishinoya had a strange attraction to the girl. She once again thought about this 'Kiyoko-san' possibly being a past flame of his, and that he was using Hitomi as a sort of rebound. For some reason, being compared to 'Kiyoko-san' didn't sit well with her. Especially not if she was being used as a rebound.

Fumio chuckled at their interaction. "Well, if you two do end up dating, I don't think I'll have to worry about you making her happy!" When Hitomi looked at the women with confusion, she continued. "I have never once seen Hitomi-chan talking about or even looking at boys, and I've seen lots of girls come into this store. Sometimes, that's all they talk about! But not Hitomi-chan! That's why I was surprised to see you come in and talk to her so familiarly. You must at least be closer to her than others!"

"It's only because he's forcing himself into my life without any consideration of my feelings. Please don't look further into it than it actually is." Hitomi firmly shot down the idea.

"Wha—! It's only because you wouldn't tell me anything! Not even your name! I had to hear it from that creepy guy last time!" Nishinoya defended himself, grimacing at being reminded of how disturbing the manager, Ueda, was.

"You know, normally people would take that as a hint." Hitomi responded with an accusatory look.

"I would never give up my love for you so easily!" The libero declared with complete confidence. Hitomi just rolled her eyes at that, choosing not to humor him anymore. Fumio chuckled as she handed the bag of snacks to the girl and received the money for them.

"Well, it was nice to see you, Hitomi-chan! You too, young man!" The elderly woman smiled at the two of them.

Nishinoya released a sound as if realizing something. "I'm Nishinoya Yuu! Nice to meet you, granny!" He bowed enthusiastically to her.

She smiled and chuckled again. "What good manners! He wouldn't hold a candle to my grandson, but he seems like a keeper!" The woman complimented, causing Nishinoya to lift his head with the biggest smile.

"It's your imagination." Hitomi coldly responded, but Nishinoya's happiness at the compliment couldn't be deflated.

Fumio only smiled. "Thank you for your patronage! Please come again soon!"

As the two high schoolers walked out of the store, Nishinoya looked up at Hitomi eagerly. "Did you hear that? She called me a keeper!" He repeated the compliment, hoping that it would somehow change Hitomi's mind on dating him.

She didn't even spare him a glance. "Did you hear that I also said that she was just imagining things?"

"Aww, come on! Well, if you won't date me, at least come see my match tomorrow!" He requested.

"Again, no thanks." She refused. Although his cheerfulness was very much still there, Hitomi could tell that he was disappointed. For any other person, she wouldn't have cared. For some reason though, she felt a bit guilty. After all, he still came all this way to have only a possibility of seeing her, even after how tired he must have been from playing two matches today.

Hitomi sighed, reaching into her bag of snacks. "If I give you this, will you stop bothering me about it?" She handed him one of the popsicles she bought.

It was a Garigari-kun popsicle, soda flavor.

Nishinoya had his mouth agape as he carefully held it in the palms of his hands, as if it were the most precious and delicate thing in the world. "Oooohh! A gift from Hitomi-chan!"

She furrowed her brows. "It's just a popsicle. You're acting like you're holding diamonds or something."

"It's worth more than diamonds!" He shouted. "It's a precious gift from you! It's my favorite popsicle and my favorite flavor too! You remembered!"

"It's a coincidence." She lied. Hitomi couldn't understand why he was so happy at a simple popsicle, but it was worth it if it freed her from that odd bit of guilt she just had.

Nishinoya beamed at her. "Man, I'm just reminded of how nice you are every time, Hitomi-chan! This and the aloe vera gel you gave me before! It's no wonder I fell in love with you!" He exclaimed as he unwrapped the popsicle.

The girl looked away in embarrassment. "It really isn't anything worth making such a big deal for. Anyways, I'm leaving." She turned to walk away, but paused after a few steps. "…Congratulations on your wins today…and…good luck in your next match…" She walked off before Nishinoya could recollect himself.

The boy was left standing in front of the convenience store, staring after Hitomi's retreating form with awe and a pink tint to his cheeks. He had completely forgotten that he hadn't finished eating the popsicle until it started dripping onto his hand. Finishing it with two large chomps, he flipped the popsicle stick over to see a word printed on it.

_Winner!_

Nishinoya shouted and jumped for joy, running back into the store to claim another free popsicle.


	8. Chapter 8

"_We'll be up against Seijoh, one of the top four in the prefecture! But we're definitely taking them down! It'll be even better than seeing us get revenge on Datekou! You definitely should come see it!"_

Hitomi's hand twitched, the pencil making an unwanted stroke on the paper. Why had she suddenly thought about yesterday? Looking down at her notebook, she realized that the last couple of words she wrote were just plain gibberish. Sighing, she took an eraser to correct her mistakes.

She had no intention of going to see his match, no matter how much he begged her. Besides, even if she wanted to, it was too late now. It was already night time, and the match surely would have been over by now. So, why had she thought about it?

She was never really interested in any sport, much less volleyball. In fact, she barely knew much about it past that book she read on a whim in her school's library.

There was no reason for her to suddenly think about Nishinoya's match, and yet, her fingers were already typing up a search on her smartphone. Clicking on the first result, she was brought to an article on the Miyagi News website.

_Powerhouses Aobajohsai High School and Shiratorizawa Academy Set to Face Off in the Inter-High Final!_

"Hitomi-sama, where are you going?" The girl flinched as she heard her personal maid's voice. When had she reached the front door to her home? It appears her body had moved on instinct, and she had no idea why.

The maid, Chiyo, looked on curiously as she saw Hitomi's face contort with confusion. Her tenseness slowly relaxed as she dealt with her inner conflict. Although, the relaxation seemed a bit forced. "This is around the usual time that you would visit the convenience store for your snacks, but I am aware that you went yesterday. Would you perhaps be going again tonight? Did the store not have a particular snack of your liking yesterday?" The older woman asked.

Hitomi furrowed her brows slightly, biting the inside of her cheek. "I…no, it's nothing. I don't know what I was planning on doing. Thank you, Chiyo-san." The girl closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to get her bearings together. She turned around, walking towards the stairs.

Chiyo watched her silently with a bit of concern, never really seeing Hitomi so disoriented. The girl always took everything in stride, no matter how absurd the situation was like being proposed to or blackmailed by various men of power with their eye on her. The maid continued to watch as Hitomi stopped walking up the stairs at the fourth step. She saw the girl's hand tighten on the side railing before she turned to walk back down.

"Have you decided to go after all?" Chiyo asked tentatively. Hitomi paused at the door again. After a moment, she nodded. Chiyo then moved to open the door and bowed respectfully. "In that case, please do have a safe trip."

Hitomi nodded to her in acknowledgement as she walked out. As the door closed behind her, she breathed in the night air. She released the breath as a heavy sigh. "What am I doing…?" She whispered but trekked forward anyways.

There was no reason for her to go to the convenience store tonight. She had already bought her weeks-worth of snacks yesterday, and her maid assumed incorrectly that she was going for another snack that wasn't in stock. She had bought her usual favorites with no trouble yesterday.

Therefore, there was no reason for her to go. Yet, she was still going. Although she would have liked to deny it, she knew the real reason for going was to see if _he_ would be there.

She had no idea why. It was completely irrational. Just as she had no reason to go to the store, he had no reason to be waiting there either. He never knew what day of the week she would come, but they both knew by now that Hitomi only went to the store once a week, if at all. The fact that she went yesterday meant that she wouldn't be there for a while and most certainly not tonight.

Yet, here she was. Standing within sight of the familiar convenience store, seeing Nishinoya out front.

He was squatting by the entrance, slightly leaning against the wall as his arms lay atop his knees. His hair was down again, covering his eyes as he looked at the ground in front of him.

Hitomi's brows furrowed. The air around him was somewhat…gloomy. Something that was unfamiliar on him. She had seen him upset before like when he got annoyed at the manager Ueda or when he visited her at her school and heard the people talking badly about her, but she hadn't seen him so downcast before. Of course, she hadn't known him for long, but the striking thing about him was that his cheerfulness never dampened even when Hitomi was at her coldest towards him.

Nishinoya shifted when he heard the sound of footsteps growing closer. When he lifted his head to see if it was the girl he was waiting for, Hitomi saw that his eyes were slightly red and puffy. Sure signs of recent crying.

"Wait here." She ordered before he could even get up to greet her. His eyes followed her form in confusion as she quickly went inside the store.

Within a few moments, she returned with a plastic bag filled with whatever she bought. Once again, before he could get up, Hitomi squat down next to him with her knees together and leaned back against the wall. She placed the bag in front of him.

"For me?" Nishinoya questioned. The girl nodded, not looking at him. Nishinoya just tilted his head in confusion, but ruffled through the bag nonetheless. In it were two bottles of the sports drink Pocari Sweat, a few instant hot packs, the same number of instant cold compresses, a couple of protein bars, and a small packet of tissues.

The libero looked back at Hitomi for an explanation. She had the lower half of her face buried in her arms that were crossed over her knees as she spoke softly, still not looking at him. "A sports drink with lots of electrolytes is good after a workout. So is a protein bar and keeping your muscles warm with hot packs…"

Nishinoya felt the tears coming back up. He thought he was done with all that crying with the team earlier, but he was wrong. "Hitomi-chan…" He breathed out in disbelief, a few sniffles being let out as well. He was trying hard not to cry in front of the girl he likes, fearing that she might think him less of a man for doing so.

Her next words, however, made all his efforts useless. "You can cry as much as you want. There are tissues and cold compresses in there too. You can put them on your eyes later to reduce the swelling from crying."

Nishinoya's tears flowed freely, a heavy stream down his cheeks and chin. He tore open a protein bar and popped open the cap of a Pocari Sweat. Slapping on the hot packs to his legs, he chomped on the protein bars and nearly chugged the sports drinks.

Hitomi glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Slow down. At this rate, you'll end up choking yourself." She admonished, but there was really no threat in her voice. She continued to look at Nishinoya, a slight frown on her lips as she saw how distressed he was. She noticed his momentary happiness when he realized her intentions, but it was completely overshadowed by his low spirits from losing his match today.

She silently waited beside him as Nishinoya ate and cried. When he finished, he used the tissues to wipe his eyes and mouth. The tears had stopped flowing, but he still felt the sting in his eyes. "…We lost today…" He breathed out in a voice much too soft for him.

His hands tightened on the nearly finished bottle of Pocari Sweat, his knuckles turning dangerously white. "If I could've just saved a few more balls…Gotten a few more of his serves…Next time…I swear I'll be the best libero next time and save every single ball that comes my way…"

Hitomi stared at him as she thought about what to say. "I…don't really do well with other people, so I've never played a team sport before…" There was a faint sadness there but it was gone as soon as it came, returning to a more blank face. "…but I'm sure the feeling of not wanting to lose is the same for everyone. I would imagine that, being in a team, that feeling gets even worse because you've been working so hard with other people to achieve the same goal."

The girl turned to look forward again, as if she were searching for something in the distance. "Even though I say the feeling of not wanting to lose is the same for everyone, I don't think it's particularly strong for me. I've played some solo sports before, but I only ever got good enough to satisfy my parents' expectations. Eventually, when someone better than me came along, I would just say 'Oh, well' and go on my way. I was never passionate about much of anything really."

She looked back at Nishinoya, her eyes connected with his. His breath got caught in his throat at her gaze. "Seeing you being so passionate about volleyball, to the point that losing only makes you want to play more to improve yourself…I think that's something pretty amazing, no? Your team is lucky to have a teammate like you, and despite whatever happened in your match today, I'm sure they don't blame you one bit. In fact, I think they're grateful to have such a dependable teammate like you to watch their backs. So, don't beat yourself up about it so much that you end up becoming this gloomy mess. That's not who you are." Hitomi finished with a gentle, sympathetic smile.

Nishinoya could feel the sting of tears at the back of his eyes again. He mentally swore at himself for showing such a pathetic side to himself in front of her. He furiously rubbed the tears away with his shirt, having run out of the small package of tissues she bought. "I really, _really_ like you, Hitomi-chan…"

She flinched, the small smile dropping form her face instantly as her brows furrowed slightly. "Wh—Are you serious, now is not the time to be bringing that up." Her voice returned to its coldness, but it didn't seem as cold as she could have made it.

Nishinoya laughed. "It's true though! I really do like you, Hitomi-chan! And…" He gave her a thousand-watt smile. "We won't lose to them again. I'll show you just how cool I can be, so come watch my game next time!"

Hitomi just sighed. She wasn't quite sure if it was an exasperated one because he was back to his old antics or if it was one of relief because he was returning to normal. She paused in thought, wondering just when she had gotten so used to him. Enough that she knew how he usually was and was even perturbed if he acted differently. Her thoughts were interrupted when he spoke again. "It really was a good idea to come here…"

The girl raised an eyebrow at him, questioning him. "You should know by now that I only go to this store around once a week, if at all. What would you have done if I didn't end up coming here?"

Nishinoya hummed in thought. "Yeah, that's true. I didn't think you'd be here today, but I was feeling really down about my game. I just really wanted to see you. I didn't have your number and I don't know where you live either. Next thing I knew, my legs already took me here!" He laughed boisterously. "I was right to come here though. Seeing you instantly made me feel better!"

Hitomi's eyes widened at seeing him staring at her so lovingly. Her gaze flew forward as she buried the lower half of her face into her arms again. Thankfully it was night time because she felt the strangest tinge of heat on her cheeks. "You're ridiculous…"

The boy laughed again, his heart full of warmth. He eventually stopped, tilting his head in confusion. "Hey, wait, why _are_ you here then, Hitomi-chan?" He questioned her curiously.

Uh-oh.

Her eyes widened again, realizing her mistake. There's no way she would say that she came here to see him. She hadn't even admitted that to herself yet, and there's no telling how he would react at that. "I…came back because I wanted to buy a snack that wasn't in stock yesterday…" She hesitated in coming up with a believable excuse.

Nishinoya ruffled through the single shopping bag in front of them, seeing only the instant cold compresses left. He tilted his head in confusion again. "Eh? I don't see any other snacks in here though?"

"…They didn't have what I wanted again…" Hitomi mentally pat herself on the back, relieved at being able to lie her way through that. She could tell that Nishinoya was genuinely curious and she was ever thankful that he wasn't bright enough to figure it out.

"Eh? Really!? Tell me what you want! I'll get it for you next time!" He leaned towards her excitedly.

Hitomi leaned away from him. "…That's okay. It was just a simple craving. It's not a big deal."

Nishinoya just shook his head adamantly. "No way! Whatever you want, I'll get it for you! It's the least I could do to repay you for all the kindness you've shown me!"

"I said it's fine! Just think of it as payment for always making you wait out here." Normally, she would have just brushed it off because it was always the boys' choice to follow her around. She never asked for any of their attention, but they gave it to her regardless. That's why she never felt the least bit bothered. With Nishinoya though, she really couldn't shake off this slight guilt that she felt. Who knows how many times he's been here just to be disappointed at her lack of appearance?

"Of course I'd wait for you! I'd wait anywhere to see you, Hitomi-chan!" He shot her that blindingly bright smile of his again. The girl buried her face further into her arms, feeling that weird small heat in her cheeks again.

"You really are an idiot. Why don't you ever wait _inside_ the store? You're lucky that it's the start of Summer and it's getting warm. What are you going to do once Winter comes? You'll freeze to death waiting out here all night." Hitomi quickly covered her mouth, realizing her mistake. If she was talking about Winter, then she was insinuating that she would still be willing to see him even after that long. She was making a lot of mistakes today. She silently admonished herself for such a dumb blunder, but she strangely didn't feel that bothered by it.

"I wait outside because I want to see you just that much sooner! When it's Winter, I'll just wear two…no, three…no, four! I'll wear four more layers to keep myself warm! I'll come to see you even in a blizzard, Hitomi-chan! When you smile at me, I'll warm up instantly!" Nishinoya's smile never faltered, his eyes blazing with determination.

Hitomi felt that small spark of guilt again. Her brows creased as she frowned, her thoughts bouncing on how to absolve herself of this strange guilt. "Wait here." She said as she suddenly stood up and went back into the convenience store. Nishinoya called out her name in question but the sliding doors already closed behind her.

Within moments, she returned with a sheet of paper in her hands. She handed it to him without looking at him. Taking it, Nishinoya skimmed the paper. It was a small calendar for this month with several dates circled in pen. He looked back up at her, tilting his head in confusion. "The days that are circled are the only days that I'll come to the store. Not all of them, but if it's not circled then I definitely won't be here that day." She explained still not making eye contact with him.

Nishinoya's eyes and mouth widened as he released a sound of awe. Just like when she gave him that Garigari-kun popsicle yesterday, he held the paper as if it were a map to the world's greatest riches. "Hitomi-chaaaaan!"

The girl held up her hand at him. "Don't go thinking that I'm doing this for you! I just don't want to be held responsible if you keep coming here and end up with a heat stroke or freeze to death."

The boy just laughed again, going on and on about how beautiful and amazing the girl he likes is. Hitomi rolled her eyes, but there was an unmistakable upwards tilt of her lips.


	9. Chapter 9

In the following week, Hitomi instantly regretted her actions. She stood some ways away from the convenience store, close enough to see Nishinoya Yuu squatting outside the entrance but far enough to not be detected by the boy.

He sported his usual black shorts and brightly colored t-shirt with a random four-character idiom printed on the front. His hair was back to its swept-up style that added about ten centimeters to his height. There was a white plastic shopping bag next to him, the ones typically used by the store. He appeared to be reading from a notebook, worry lines creasing his forehead as he struggled with the content.

Hitomi blinked a few times, weighing her decisions. Why, just _why_ had she given him that schedule? She really didn't need to encourage him. No matter how she was feeling at the time and despite the spark of guilt that spurred her actions, Hitomi should have just left him to his own devices. If he got a heat stroke or frostbite waiting outside for her, that should be his fault. She really shot herself in the foot this time.

The girl released a heavy sigh, wondering for the umpteenth time just what was wrong with her. She justified her actions with the idea that Nishinoya probably would have kept waiting for her regardless. Schedule or no schedule, he surely would be stupid enough to come here every day in the hopes of seeing her. The thought helped a little in easing her feelings of regret.

She rolled her shoulders and sighed again, mentally preparing for her encounter with him. As she drew closer, Nishinoya's ears perked up. He instantly got up to greet her, the worry lines disappearing from his forehead and his smile as vibrant as ever.

It really made her wonder how he could always be this happy to see her. It also made her realize just how important volleyball was to him if a simple loss could make him so depressed. She then wondered what he was looking at before to make him frown like so.

"Hitomi-chan! I missed you!" His booming voice greeted her. She was glad that there weren't any houses close enough to be disturbed by his volume.

"I have a feeling you would say that even if we had met yesterday." She accused with a raised brow.

Nishinoya just beamed at her, his smile blinding. "Even one second away from you is unbearable!" Hitomi rolled her eyes, wondering how many of those cheesy lines he has in reserve and how many times he's used them on other girls before. He's probably used them on that 'Kiyoko-san' before, whoever she is.

Other guys had used those types of lines on her before, but to no avail. For some reason, she wasn't bothered as much when Nishinoya said it.

Suddenly, he thrust the white shopping bag in front of her. "I got these for you! To repay you for all your kindness!" Nishinoya's eyes gleamed with excitement, entirely eager to please her.

Hitomi raised an eyebrow in question, cautiously reaching out to take the bag. She studied his face, seeing how eager he was. He looked like a puppy looking up at its owner, wagging its tail and waiting for its owner to get ready for their long-awaited walk. She glanced down into the bag, seeing copious amounts of snacks. Way more than she would usually buy.

Upon further inspection, her eyes widened slightly in surprise. There were some Konpeito sugar candies, Kasugai assorted gummies, various Kit Kat bars, bottles of Calpis, cans of Mitsuya Cider, as well as many other snacks. Some of the flavors he chose were questionable at best, but most of the snacks he chose were some of her favorite brands.

She supposed he wasn't only looking at just her beauty.

Nishinoya really didn't seem like the observant type, but he was surprising her a lot lately. Even though he got some of the flavors wrong, he managed to remember her favorite snacks just from a few short encounters. She had even told him many times that he needn't do anything to pay her back. Yet, he still chose to anyways.

It wasn't like Hitomi hadn't received gifts before. Flowers, jewelry, designer clothes, and more. She had received them all, but she hardly had any interest in those gifts. They didn't have an ounce of thought in them.

Even though Hitomi had received many gifts before, Nishinoya's gift of snacks was the first that made her feel differently. Every other man was always just hoping to impress her with money and material possessions.

Nishinoya's gift, on the other hand, was actually quite thoughtful even if it didn't cost as much as any of the other gifts she's ever gotten. Even if he got her some disgusting flavors like the wasabi and soy sauce flavored Kit Kats, he still remembered a little of what she liked.

Honestly though, who actually buys these flavors to the point that they're still in production?

At Hitomi's continued silence, Nishinoya fidgeted in place. He was eagerly awaiting a reaction that didn't seem to be coming. As she continued to stare into the bag of snacks, he grew a bit nervous. "D-Did I get the wrong ones?" He questioned tentatively. "I can go back in and get the right ones! Just tell me whatever you want!"

He turned around to dash back into the store but he felt her thin, soft hand grasping at his wrist to stop him. "That's really not necessary. These snacks are fine, aside from some of the flavors, but I suppose I could always try something new." She reassured him with a small smile.

Nishinoya's vibrant smile returned in full force, happy to see that she had accepted the snacks. A thoughtful look appeared on Hitomi's face, causing Nishinoya to tilt his head in question. "You do know that by getting me these snacks, you have less time to spend with me because instead of having you following me as I shop, I can just go back home now." She explained.

Nishinoya blanched at that as Hitomi continued explaining. "You also got way more than I usually get. I could probably go a whole month without coming back to the store because you got me so many snacks."

"…"

The girl stared at his blank face slowly contorting into one of despair as he processed what she said. "NOOOOOO! I DIDN'T THINK OF THAT!" Both of his hands went up to each side of his head, gripping his hair as he shouted out.

His moment of anguish was soon interrupted by a faint giggle. He turned to see Hitomi giggling into her hand, her eyes closed with her shoulders shaking. When she opened her eyes to look back at him, his breath caught in his throat.

Ahh, she was just too beautiful.

"I was only teasing you because I know you'd be stupid enough to forget about something like that." Hitomi said as she calmed down. "It's true that you bought way too much though. I really won't need to come back to the store for a while. I know you got these snacks for me, but care to join me in eating some?"

"Yes!" Nishinoya responded with glee, wildly nodding his head. She chuckled softly once more before squatting down and pulling out some snacks. Reading the labels, her brows furrowed as she hummed in thought. "You really need to work on picking out good flavors though. Soy sauce flavored Kit Kats? Really?"

"I thought it'd be fun to try because it was so weird!" He laughed. Hitomi couldn't argue with that logic, having known he would say something along those lines. She handed him one of the wrapped soy sauce flavored Kit Kats. As he tore his open, Hitomi gently peeled the wrapping.

Opening it, she was surprised to find that the wafer was covered in a white chocolate. "Ehh? It's not black like I thought it would be…" Sniffing it, her brows furrowed further in confusion. "And it smells oddly very sweet. Sort of like maple syrup." Taking a nibble from the wafer, her eyes widened. "It _is _sweet. Not salty at all like real soy sauce." As she swallowed, her tongue moved around inside her mouth. "It really does taste more like maple syrup, and the flavor lingers…" Picking up the packaging, she read the flavor label again just to make sure it was actually supposed to be the soy sauce flavor.

Nishinoya laughed beside her, catching her attention. "You should be some sort of snack critic, Hitomi-chan! You look so serious just eating snacks!"

His mouth was full with three of the soy sauce Kit Kats and Hitomi noticed a couple more empty wrappers by his feet. When had he eaten so many of them?

"I can be very particular with my snacks." Hitomi joked. "This is actually quite good though. Maybe a little too sweet to have multiple at a time, but I think it'd go well with tea. I never would have tried it on my own." She turned to Nishinoya, flashing him a gentle smile, probably the most real smile she had shown him yet. "Thank you, Nishinoya-kun."

The boy swore he had died and gone to heaven. It was most definitely an angel in front of him, sent down to guide him to the afterlife. A fierce blush appeared on his cheeks as he stared at her. She finished her Kit Kat bar, ruffling through the snack bag to see what other interesting flavors he had bought.

"So beautiful…" He whispered lovingly. Her head slightly turned towards him but her gaze was still fixated on the snacks as she ruffled through the bag. "Hmm? Did you say something?"

Nishinoya flinched, not realizing he had said it aloud. "Y-You really love snacks, huh?" Why was he getting embarrassed now of all times? He had told her she was beautiful nearly every other time he had seen her. What had changed? She was beautiful even when she was cold to him, but her smiles directed at him were just so much more beautiful.

She had smiled at him before though, however small they were. So, why was he feeling shy about it now?

Slowly, but surely, she was opening up to him. She didn't have to stay. She didn't have to make conversation with him. She didn't have to share with him. She didn't have to thank him. She didn't have to be so kind to him.

Yet, she still did all of these things no matter how bad of an impression he left on her initially.

Her smile though. Oh, her smile. What he wouldn't give to just have that smile forever imprinted in his mind.

He felt his heartbeat quicken just from thinking about it. His hand felt the area around his chest, his heart pulsing underneath his palm. Not even Kiyoko could have this much of an effect on him. He continued to stare at Hitomi as she placed another soy sauce Kit Kat in her mouth, nibbling on it hands-free so that she could thoroughly look through the rest of the snacks.

Beautiful, kind, thoughtful, pretty, cute…What _wasn't_ she?

Suddenly she turned to him, surprising him. In his shock, he had almost dropped one of the already opened Kit Kat bars. Hitomi raised in eyebrow at him in question as he fumbled with the candy. "By the way, what was it you were looking at before? You seemed really troubled by it."

Nishinoya saw the flash of concern in her eyes, and it warmed his heart. "Uh…I was studying for the final exams coming up. My worst subject is modern literature…" He revealed sheepishly.

Hitomi looked up, her finger tapping the middle of her chin like she usually did when she was thinking. "Modern literature? Most of the time, they're just testing your reading comprehension. If you read closely the answer is pretty much always plainly written right in the text."

She looked back at Nishinoya, surprised to find him so glum. He was a bit depressed at how she explained it so simply and ashamed that he couldn't also find it just as simple like Hitomi or Ennoshita did. That spark of guilt returned to Hitomi, seeing him so upset.

"I need to avoid the makeup exams so that I can go to the training camp…" The libero muttered. Hitomi nodded in understanding. Of course, he was more concerned about volleyball than about the actual grades.

"I just hate studying so much! Especially modern literature! Once I start reading, it gets so boring! And there's just so much to read! How am I supposed to remember where the one sentence they're looking for is?!" He bemoaned, releasing a frustrated shout.

"Do you mind if I have a look?" Hitomi offered. The boy nodded, handing over his crumpled notebook filled with previous pop quizzes in the subject. Hitomi grimaced at the grades, seeing the low scores and red markings littered throughout the pages. Picking out a random quiz, she glanced quickly at the passages and the questions.

Leaning towards him, she pointed at several parts within the passages. "Sometimes the passages can be quite lengthy, but most of the time, you don't really have to read the whole thing. I usually read the questions first and then just skim the passages. A lot of the times, the questions will use words that are found in the passages. So, I skim until something similar shows up and then I read around that area. It's a lot faster and much less boring that way." She explained thoroughly, using his pencil to circle and underline words.

Honestly, Nishinoya couldn't pay attention. She was leaning close to him in order to show him what she was talking about, and it was close enough that he could smell the shampoo from her hair. It was a nice and light floral scent. He thought it really suited her.

As she looked down at the pages, her hair fell forward. She gently tucked it behind her ear, still focusing on the paper.

She was so close. He didn't think he'd ever seen her beautiful face this close before. He had admired her before, but he always had to look up at her to do so. Now that they were both squatting, their faces were level with each other and he had a perfect view of her.

Instead of her finger, she used the pencil to tap the middle of her chin as she thought. Suddenly, she turned to him, catching him off guard yet again. "Are you even listening?" She demanded sternly.

Nishinoya blushed and laughed sheepishly. Hitomi just rolled her eyes and sighed, handing his notebook and pencil back to him. "Forget it. I shouldn't have offered to help you."

The boy flinched. Of course, he needed all the help he could get, but this was the perfect opportunity to spend more time with the girl he likes! "No, wait! Please help me, Hitomi-sensei!"

The girl stared at him with a reprimanding look for a few moments before sighing. "Fine, but you better pay attention this time." He nodded emphatically. He intently listened to her every word as she explained things as simply as possible for him. Though very difficult at first, he was slowly starting to get it.

After successfully managing to answer three questions correctly without her assistance, Hitomi clapped excitedly. "You did it! See, it's not so bad once you really try." She dug into the snack bag, pulling out another soy sauce Kit Kat and placing it in his palm. "A reward for your efforts." She tilted her head. "Well…I guess it's not much of a reward when you remember that _you're_ the one who bought it." She laughed, the sound tickling Nishinoya's ears.

He stared at her laughing face, almost melting at the sight. "Hitomi-chan…I—" He was interrupted by the loud ringing of his phone. Quickly answering it, his mother's loud voice bombarded his ear. Hitomi, without meaning to, caught a few snippets of the conversation. She smiled to herself, finding humor in the situation. Now she knows that his loud and energetic nature ran in the family.

She heard something about getting home quickly because they were having guests for dinner. Nishinoya frantically apologized, assuring that he would make it home in time. After ending the call, he clapped his hands together and bowed to Hitomi. "Sorry, Hitomi-chan! I have to go back home! I'll definitely be back next week though!"

The girl raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't count on me being here next week, what with how many snacks you bought." She raised the bag of snacks to emphasize her point.

"No way! Please!? I really could use your help in studying again! Plus, I really want to see you!" He nearly begged her.

Hitomi sighed, but it was more for appearances than it actually was to show annoyance. "I'll think about it." She curtly responded.

"Yes!" The libero jumped up in joy. "I'll see you next week, Hitomi-chan!" He shouted and waved back as he ran off.

Hitomi's eyes followed him until he was completely out of sight, unknowingly smiling to herself.


	10. Chapter 10

"Uwaahh! Noya-san! That's amazing! You got a thirty-one on the last quiz!" Tanaka shouted out, his eyes sparkling as he stared at the libero's most recent sixty-point pop quiz with awe.

Due to the much dreaded final exams coming up, the group of second-years had decided to meet up more frequently for study sessions. In particular, to help Tanaka and Nishinoya who were in the most danger of failing and not being able to go to the training camp. This time, they had decided to meet up at Nishinoya's house.

The libero laughed triumphantly, pumping out his chest with pride. "Of course! I'm Karasuno's Guardian Deity after all!" He smirked coolly, jabbing his thumb towards his chest to emphasize his point.

"A thirty-one is nothing to be proud of, Mr. Still-Failing." Ennoshita bluntly commented. Nishinoya flinched, his confidence faltering. Ennoshita's pointed gaze then turned to the other second-year idiot, causing him to flinch as well. "And don't encourage him Tanaka!"

Kinoshita and Narita chuckled behind him while still trying to work on their own worksheets in fear of invoking the wrath of Ennoshita-sensei. "Still though, that's a pretty big improvement!" Narita remarked.

Kinoshita nodded in agreement. "It's only nine more points from passing. In modern literature, too! Wasn't that your worst subject?"

"Yeah, this is a little suspicious. You better not have cheated." Ennoshita eyed the boy. Nishinoya looked appalled. "Of course not! I would never do something so lame!"

The boss of the second-years just raised his eyebrow in question. "Then, how did you improve so much when, just recently, you wrote nothing but nonsense answers on your worksheets and tests?"

The shorter boy laughed mysteriously. He clasped his hands together, like one would do in prayer. His eyes glazed over as he looked up, a smile full of bliss gracing his features. "I received divine insight from a goddess."

Kinoshita, Narita, and Tanaka tilted their heads in confusion while Ennoshita just looked at him blankly. "Okay, here's how to do question number four." Ennoshita continued as if nothing happened. "Hey!"

The others laughed as Ennoshita paid him no mind, continuing to explain how to solve the problem. "Oh, you got that question right, Tanaka! Nice!" Narita exclaimed. "Ehh? We didn't even go over that one yet. How'd you know how to do it?" Kinoshita asked.

Tanaka blushed, his hand rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Tsukiko-chan actually showed me how to do problems like this when she came over last weekend…Cut it out!" He added when the other second-years gave him suggestive looks and mock kissy faces.

"Hmm, must have been nice! How was it, having your girlfriend over for the first time?" Narita asked.

Tanaka nearly melted at remembering how cute his girlfriend was. "It was so great…But then my sister came back and interrupted us. She was so embarrassing!"

"I don't even want to know what you two were doing before that…" Ennoshita mumbled.

"We didn't do anything!" Tanaka shouted back, but a small blush appeared on his cheeks again. "But…we did…k-kiss after I walked her back home." At the revelation, the other boys shouted congratulations at him.

Nishinoya, in particular, gave him a hard smack to the back. The sort teammates would give in the middle of a game. "Nice going, Ryu!" He then looked up at the ceiling, a flash of hope in his eyes. "Ahh, if only Hitomi-chan would come to my house to teach me too!"

"Hitomi-chan?" They questioned, not knowing anybody in their year with that name. "My beautiful angel I told you about earlier!" Nishinoya explained.

"Goddess or angel? Pick one." Ennoshita said under his breath as he continued copying notes.

"Is there a 'Hitomi' that goes to our school?" Tanaka asked, curious to know who other than Kiyoko was able to capture Nishinoya's affections.

Nishinoya shook his head in response, causing the other's interests to rise. "Do you have a picture of her?" They asked. At the question, he shook his head again.

Ennoshita's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. "She doesn't go to our school _and_ you don't have a picture of her…What are you, a grade schooler? You sound like a kid who got jealous of another kid and started lying to make it seem like you're just as good as them. Just because Tanaka got a girlfriend doesn't mean you have to make one up."

"I'm not lying! She's real!" Nishinoya shouted back. Ennoshita just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, just get back to studying! We've all been distracted enough already." He ordered with a deep frown, making everyone quickly return to diligently working.

After a while, the group got stuck on one particular question. They were all struggling, as none of them could figure it out. Kinoshita looked up from the page. "Hey, maybe you can ask…uhh…Hitomi-san?" He suggested.

Nishinoya perked up, nodding his head excitedly. "Sure!" He whipped out his phone, preparing to take a picture of the question, but his hand holding the phone stilled in the air. His eyes darkened and a depressive aura surrounded him as his head drooped a little. "I…don't have her number…" He begrudgingly admitted.

Ennoshita sighed. "Are you sure she's not just a figment of your imagination or something?"

"She's not! I swear!" The libero yelled. His eyes widened in realization. "Ah! The convenience store!" He quickly dug into his bag, searching for the piece of paper she gave him.

"The convenience store?" The others questioned, but Nishinoya was much too excited to hear them. Upon finding the paper, he hurriedly unfolded it, searching for today's date.

It was circled.

His eyes lit up as his smile returned. "Guys! Let's go to the convenience store by my house! We can meet her there!"

Tanaka was all for it, considering it meant that they could get snacks _and_ not have to study for a bit. Kinoshita and Narita looked at Ennoshita, as if they were kids looking to get permission from their parent. Ennoshita sighed in agitation, "Alright, fine. We can take a break, but don't get carried away!"

Tanaka and Nishinoya cheered, jumping up immediately as the other second-years just smiled at them. On their way to the store, Tanaka asked the libero, "What's she like?"

"She's beautiful! The most beautiful girl I've ever seen! I would die for her!" The boy proudly stated with sparkles in his eyes.

Kinoshita raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Eh? Even prettier than Kiyoko-san?" He questioned in disbelief. It was amazing to think that someone could be more beautiful than their manager. Better yet, it was incredible that Nishinoya, of all people, would think so.

Nishinoya nodded emphatically. "Kiyoko-san is definitely beautiful too, but Hitomi-chan is just…!" He gazed off in the distance, a smile of pure joy and admiration on his lips. He couldn't even begin to find the right words to describe the love of his life, but he had a feeling he never would. In his eyes, anything he said would never be able to do Hitomi's beauty justice. "Once you see her, you'll understand!" He stated assertively.

Kinoshita looked at the others who just shrugged their shoulders, not sure what to make of the libero's statements. Once they reached the store, Nishinoya frantically looked around for Hitomi. She was nowhere to be seen so he headed inside with the rest of the second-years.

The store wasn't exactly tiny, but it wasn't so big that he couldn't tell from just a glance that Hitomi wasn't inside either. Just from the entrance, he could do a visual sweep of the store, seeing that they were the only patrons.

She was most certainly tall enough that the top of her head would poke out from one of the aisles. Not being able to see her beautiful, silky, black hair, Nishinoya's shoulders slumped a bit. "Ara! Is that Yuu-kun?"

The boy jerked his head up to see the elderly cashier, Fumio. It was the same old lady that had approved of him and Hitomi! "Granny! It's nice to see you again!" He smiled, running up to her.

The elderly woman gently smiled back, putting a hand to her cheek. "My, my! I should be saying that! It's good to see you again, too! I see you brought friends with you." When she looked over at the group of second-years they bowed politely to her. She smiled again, glad to see youngsters with such good manners. "Is Hitomi-chan not with you?" She questioned.

Nishinoya's smile dampened just the tiniest bit as he shook his head. "I was actually hoping to see her today! Did she already come by the store?" At the shake of Fumio's head, Nishinoya's smile dimmed again but soon returned in its full radiance.

She wasn't here now, but if she hadn't come at all yet, then there was still a chance she would! Just like always, he'd wait for her however long it took.

The boy thanked Fumio for the information, hopping back over to his friends so they could decide on what snacks to buy for their group study session. Passing by the candy and chocolates aisle, his eyes fell upon the soy sauce flavored Kit Kats.

His eyes brightened, remembering how cute Hitomi was when she ate the Kit Kat so seriously and was almost critiquing it. The way she sniffed at the treat and nibbled cautiously at it was just so cute!

He smiled to himself, remembering her cute gestures and how smelling the shampoo in her hair made his heart flutter as she tried tutoring him.

Rather than the large bag of Kit Kats he got for her before, he chose a smaller set instead.

Tanaka looked over Nishinoya's shoulder to see what he had picked out. His face contorted in disgust as he read the label. "Geh! Soy sauce Kit Kats!? That sounds gross!"

Nishinoya laughed, throwing the bag into the basket. "It's actually really good! It's sweet! I think it'll go well with tea, like Hitomi-chan suggested!"

The wing spiker still looked at the bag of Kit Kats in the basket incredulously. "…If you say so…"

They continued throughout the store, picking out their favorite snacks with the others. After they paid for it all, Nishinoya immediately opened up a soda flavored Garigari-kun. He chomped on the popsicle eagerly, nearly finishing it before they even walked out of the store.

When he realized that the others were well on their way back towards his house, he stopped in his tracks. "Wait! Aren't we waiting for Hitomi-chan?"

They turned to him with confused looks. "Huh? What are you talking about? She wasn't there, remember? Let's go back." Ennoshita turned back around.

"Ehhhh? But she could come any minute now! Let's wait! Didn't you guys want to see her, too?" Nishinoya adamantly stayed put.

Narita scratched his cheek, an uncomfortable look on his face. "Well, yeah, we were interested but how do you know she's coming? Did you guys agree to meet up today?"

Nishinoya blanched at that. Well, of course, Hitomi and he had never agreed to meet up any of the other times they had seen each other. He had always just come of his own free will and sometimes, Hitomi happened to show up, much to his enjoyment.

The boy pulled out the small calendar from his pocket, double-checking to make sure that today's date was circled. "We didn't agree to meet up, but today's date is circled!" He flipped the paper around to let the others see. They leaned forward, looking at the paper with curiosity.

"What does today's date being circled have anything to do with it?" Ennoshita questioned with a raised eyebrow. "If you guys didn't agree to meet up, how would she know to come here. You don't even have her number, so it's not like you could tell her either. Now come on, let's go!" He pulled on the back of the shorter boy's collar, dragging him away from the store and back to his house.

"Nooo! I don't want to! Hitomi-chan could come any second now!" Nishinoya cried out like a child, digging his heels into the ground. Ennoshita didn't listen, only using more force to drag him off. They had come over to study, not to wait for some girl that may or may not even be real! There was no way he was letting Nishinoya weasel his way out of more studying.

Nishinoya struggled harder, waving his hands around too. "Today! Date! Circled! Hitomi-chaaaan!" "SHUT UP!"

His cries echoed into the nighttime air as the sound of Ennoshita smacking his head reverberated.


	11. Chapter 11

Upon reaching the convenience store, Hitomi pulled out one of her earbuds. She had been listening to English vocabulary words as she flipped through index cards in preparation for that portion of the final exam, but she could have sworn that she had heard her name. She also could have sworn that it was Nishinoya's voice.

Looking around, there was no sight of him. She furrowed her brows in confusion and then shook her head. She must have been getting too used to seeing him always here and imagined it. She sighed again, realizing that he really was making his mark on his life if she was getting this used to seeing him. So much so that she was even expecting him to be here at this point.

She put away her earbuds and index cards as she walked into the store, being greeted by Fumio. "Ah! There you are, Hitomi-chan! I was wondering when you would come by!" The old woman said.

The younger girl blinked and tilted her head in confusion. Of course, Hitomi only ever came to the store when a female cashier was scheduled, but it wasn't like she _always_ came whenever Fumio was scheduled to work. She had just come often enough that the older woman could recognize her, making her previous comment seem a bit strange to Hitomi.

Noticing the girl's confusion, Fumio tilted her head as well. "Oh? Yuu-kun was just here, saying that he wanted to see you and asked me if you had come by the store yet." She explained.

Yuu-kun? Oh, she must have been talking about Nishinoya. Well, of course, he would say something about wanting to see her. He was always going on about that and using other stupid, cheesy lines. "I see. We never agreed to meet up, so he must have just been running his mouth again about embarrassing things." Hitomi responded straightforwardly.

Fumio frowned, her features laced with concern. "Oh, that's too bad. He was here with his friends just a moment ago! You must have just missed each other!"

Hitomi blinked, thinking that maybe hearing her name outside earlier wasn't just her imagination. She shook her head, as if to shake herself out of it and stop thinking about him. If they really had just missed each other, then that was a good thing. Fumio said that he was here with friends after all. Hitomi didn't need more blubbering boys to annoy her. That was the last thing she needed.

She walked into the drinks aisle, picking up a bottle of orange Ramune. She was about to go and pay for it when her eyes caught sight of the soy sauce flavored Kit Kats. She still had many snacks back home, but the soy sauce Kit Kats were already all gone. They were unexpectedly quite good and went even better with some tea like she thought they would. Thinking for a bit, she grabbed a couple of individually wrapped ones.

Hitomi gave a breath of laughter, remembering how ridiculous Nishinoya looked with several of the bars shoved into his mouth. Unlike what she was used to seeing, he had absolutely no etiquette.

That should have been considered bad, but that also meant that he never held himself back. He was straightforward in everything that he did, never hiding. Something that Hitomi learned to appreciate. Not from him specifically, but in general. She's dealt with many people, often those hiding behind a mask and hoping to gain her or her family's favor.

The girl blinked, realizing that she was thinking about him once again. She shook her head, as if to shake the thoughts of him out. What was she thinking?

Returning to the front counter, Fumio raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Only a drink and a few Kit Kats? You always get a handful of snacks. Have you finally decided to listen to my advice about how having so many snacks all the time will ruin your beautiful figure?" The old woman looked at her pointedly.

Hitomi smiled sheepishly, a sweat drop forming on her temple. "Ahh, actually I have a lot of snacks still left over. I was just craving orange Ramune is all." It was the truth. Nishinoya really had bought far too many snacks than she would normally eat in a week or two.

Although she really was craving the drink, there was just a small part of her that thought Nishinoya might be here. Of course, she would never admit that there was the tiniest hope of seeing him tonight. Not even to herself. Lately, she was experiencing many emotions that she decided to squash and throw into the back of her mind. Many of them having to deal with a particular libero.

Fumio hummed in thought as she scanned the items. "Yuu-kun got the same Kit Kats just earlier. You both are so strange! I would never get a flavor of candy that sounds so outlandish like soy sauce! People like you must be why this flavor is still even in production!"

The younger girl chuckled, thinking similar thoughts when Nishinoya had first bought them for her. "It's actually quite good and goes pretty well with tea." She handed over the cash in exchange for the bag of snacks.

"Thank you for your patronage! Please come again soon!" Fumio said the standard line as Hitomi walked out. Stepping out of the store, she pulled out the bottle of orange Ramune. Using the plastic device provided, she expertly slammed her palm down on the opening, pushing the marble inward and opening the drink.

She took a small sip, throwing out the plastic cap and walking back towards her house. Looking into the bag, she saw the purple and white wrappings of the soy sauce Kit Kats. Based on Fumio's words earlier, it seemed like Nishinoya thoroughly enjoyed them as well, despite the odd flavor name.

Hitomi gently smiled, leisurely walking back home. Upon reaching the gates, she spoke into the intercom, getting buzzed back in. As she approached the main doors, they swung open with Chiyo greeting her. "Welcome back, Hitomi-sama. I see you were successful in acquiring your sweets."

The girl nodded, handing the bag over to her personal maid. As Chiyo looked inside, her eyebrows raised. "More soy sauce Kit Kats? You have acquired quite the taste milady." The woman remarked.

Hitomi chuckled. "They're actually quite good. If you want, you can try some. I still have a lot of other snacks I could eat." She offered nonchalantly.

The maid promptly shook her head. "I could never. Please enjoy them for me, Hitomi-sama." The girl just shrugged her shoulders, taking another drink from her orange Ramune. Chiyo followed her up the stairs to her room, her eyes focused on Hitomi's serene expression. In all her years of serving the young mistress, it had been quite a while since she had seen her so content.

Even the other servants had to agree. Lately, there were a few more small smiles here and there. Hitomi still had her cold and blank looks that she normally held, but the aura around her seemed calmer. More at peace. Nothing drastic, but it was a change that they had all welcomed.

Despite her cold temperament, Hitomi was never unkind to them. Only a little blunt at times. When she was a child, she was even full of joy. It was throughout the years of being exposed to the harsh world of the upper-class that caused her cynicism to surface and take hold. Despite Hitomi's ideas about her servants, they truly did wish for her well-being and longed for her happiness.

"If I may, Hitomi-sama…" Chiyo started, gaining the girl's attention. "You seem to be in much higher spirits. Your visits to the convenience store are also taking longer than usual. Would I be correct in assuming that those longer visits might have something to do with your improved disposition?"

Her statements caused Hitomi's expression to immediately harden, returning to her usual cold look. The change startled Chiyo, as she urgently bowed and apologized. "My apologies, Hitomi-sama. I meant no disrespect."

The girl just waved her hand in dismissal as she sat at her dresser, crossing her legs and facing slightly away from Chiyo. "It's fine. I just don't understand why you're asking questions in such a roundabout way. Bodyguards follow me around everywhere, and I know that they report everything to you since you're my personal maid. I'm sure you already know, so why don't you just ask what you _really_ want to ask?" Her elbow rested on her crossed legs as she placed her chin in the palm of her hand. Her eyes shifted to the corner, looking critically at her maid.

Chiyo grimaced, looking down uncomfortably as she bowed once more. "My apologies. They informed me that you have been talking with someone frequently at the store. A young boy. They say that you seem very happy when you are with him. Is he your friend?" She asked, tentatively looking up at the girl. Hope was shining in her eyes.

Hitomi's hands tightened on the glass bottle. Friend? When was the last time she had a friend? Chiyo was well aware of this, so that was probably why she was asking.

If anything, Nishinoya Yuu was just an annoyance. Another boy shallowly fixated with her beauty. Someone who didn't understand when to give up and just went at his own pace no matter what anybody else said.

Yet, Hitomi couldn't bring herself to dispel Chiyo's ideas immediately.

What was a friend?

The last time Hitomi thought she knew, she had been used and betrayed. Could boys and girls ever _just_ be friends? In her experience, it didn't seem like it. Or rather, the boys never thought that was an option.

Would Nishinoya Yuu be considered a friend? He didn't seem like a bad person. Not like the others. He always said everything outright, his actions matching his words. It was obvious that his affections started from her appearance, but Hitomi never felt any ill intent coming from him and his stupidity.

Then again, she had been wrong before.

Still, she couldn't see Nishinoya being a bad guy. Especially if she never allowed him to be by never opening herself up to him in the first place. A mistake she surely would never make for someone else ever again.

"He's…an acquaintance…" Hitomi finally muttered after a long period of silence. While stuck in her thoughts, her hands had tightened on the glass Ramune bottle so much that her knuckles were beginning to turn white.

The girl turned around to face the mirror of her dresser. "If that's all you wanted to ask, then you may go. I'm planning on studying a bit more tonight and don't want to be disturbed." Hitomi was done with this conversation. The more she thought about it and him, the more confused she got about her own feelings. The more she remembered unfortunate events from her past.

Chiyo's eyes flashed with disappointment, but softened in understanding. She smiled gently at her charge. "I see. I hope you two continue to have nothing but pleasant encounters then." She bowed respectfully and turned to leave the room.

Upon closing the door to Hitomi's bedroom, the maid sighed softly. Just an acquaintance, she said. It wasn't exactly a friend, but that didn't mean it could never be. After all this time, Hitomi was finally letting someone in. She wasn't quite ready to let down her walls just yet, but this was far more progress than anyone before had ever gotten. Not after three years ago at least.

Chiyo looked up, a bit of hope filling her eyes. Whoever this Nishinoya Yuu was, she hoped that he was just what Hitomi needed and she hoped that he wouldn't give up on Hitomi like the rest.


	12. Chapter 12

The next time Hitomi arrived at the convenience store, she saw Nishinoya outside like usual.

Except, this time, he appeared to be talking to himself?

Hitomi couldn't exactly see too well from a distance, but he appeared to be holding something with both hands. He was facing the street, speaking into the air. He bowed his head and his body slightly, like how somebody would introduce themselves while handing out their business card.

"What are you doing?" The girl asked as she walked up. The libero shouted in surprise, quickly hiding whatever he was holding behind his back. He faced Hitomi with an awkward smile, a few droplets of cold sweat appearing on his forehead. She raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"I-It's so wonderful to see you, Hitomi-chan! How are you today!" He was always a cheerful and overly energetic person, but his voice was extra loud now. It was as if he thought the volume of his voice would mask his nervousness and the fact that he had something to hide.

Hitomi mentally chuckled to herself, thinking that he might be terrible at keeping secrets. He didn't seem like the type to love gossip, but just seemed like he would make it obvious that he knew something. She decided not to push him because it was clear that he didn't want to reveal anything. "I'm doing fine, and you?" She asked in return.

"Better now that you're here!" He instantly responded, his shoulders being relieved of the tension. His voice returned to its usual, slightly too loud volume as his smile and eyes sparkled at Hitomi. She rolled her eyes at yet another one of his cheesy lines.

Normally, she would have been disgusted at one of those lines because they were always being said by some sleazy guy hoping to curry her favor. With Nishinoya, she could tell that he was being completely genuine.

For other guys, saying such lines were natural because they had probably used them on hundreds of other girls before. With Nishinoya, it seemed more like he just blurted out the first thought that came to his head. He always paired it with that stupidly bright smile of his.

Those cheesy lines may have sounded better and more genuine coming from him, but that didn't exactly mean Hitomi liked it. She sighed, seeing him shove whatever he was hiding into his back pockets as they walked into the store.

The cashier today was just some other female part-timer who greeted the two as they entered. Hitomi bowed her head in acknowledgement as she picked up a shopping basket. As always, she went to the candy and chocolates aisle first.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise when, instead of blindly following her around like a puppy, Nishinoya walked ahead of her down the aisle. The girl shrugged her shoulders, thinking that he probably wanted to buy something for himself for once. Better for her. Less of an annoyance that way.

After throwing a couple snacks into the shopping basket, she turned to walk further down the aisle. She stopped two steps in when Nishinoya met her, arms full of soy sauce flavored Kit Kats. They were nearly overflowing, on the verge of spilling from his arms. "I hope you're not planning on eating all of those." She joked.

"They're for you! You like them, right?" His eyes gleamed. She blinked at him, wondering if he was serious in thinking that she'd buy that many.

"They're good, but they're not _that_ good." She explained while she picked out a couple, throwing them into the basket. That appeared to be good enough for Nishinoya, his eyes brightening up even more somehow. He carefully put back the rest of the Kit Kats as Hitomi went to the drinks aisle next.

She looked up and down the aisle, tapping the middle of her bottom lip with her index finger as she thought about what she wanted. Once again, she noticed that Nishinoya had walked ahead of her down the aisle but she thought nothing of it. After a few moments, she saw him come up to her in the corner of her eye.

As she turned to him, he held up both hands with a bottle in each of them. There were several bottles on the floor as well. In his right hand was Mitsuya Cider, and in his left was Calpis. She realized that he was patiently waiting for her to respond with which one she wanted. "Uh…I guess I'll have Mitsuya Cider…" She answered with a bit of confusion in her tone.

The libero bent down, replacing the bottle of Calpis in his left hand with another bottle of Mitsuya Cider. Now, his right hand had the same original flavor of Mitsuya Cider, and his left hand had the lemon flavor. He once again looked up at Hitomi expectantly. "…Original…?" She answered hesitantly again.

Nishinoya bent down again, placing the lemon flavor of Mitsuya Cider back down on the floor. He then picked up all of the original flavor, struggling to keep all of the bottles in his arms like he did for the soy sauce Kit Kats. Hitomi took three from him, placing them in the shopping basket. Once she was done, he rushed to put all of the other bottles back where he found them.

Hitomi almost laughed at the situation. She was no stranger to people trying to do things for her. Many boys before had always attempted to give her gifts, thinking they knew exactly what she wanted. That, and with her servants constantly following her every order, she should have been used to people trying to please her.

It was strange though. She hadn't ordered or told Nishinoya what she wanted. He just decided that he felt like doing this today. Unlike all the other boys before who got her things that they expected girls to like, the boy was carefully picking out all of her usual snacks and drinks.

Hitomi thought back to that time he had gotten her a bag of all of her preferred snacks with the soy sauce Kit Kats. He had remembered all the brands she usually bought from, but she had teased him for picking out such ridiculous flavors.

Now, he was doing the same in that he was picking out all of her favorites. This time, he was even getting various flavors and waiting for her approval.

He was aiming to please her like the others, but he was still taking her words into account. Like he was learning from his past mistakes. Still, this was a bit ridiculous, how he was trying so hard. She smiled to herself, watching as he tried to remember where he got this one particular flavor of Calpis, looking all around for that section of the shelf.

When he finally finished putting everything back, he walked with her to the ice cream freezers. Hitomi decided to have a little bit of fun "Hmm…I'm thinking about having spaghetti flavored Garigari-kun tonight…" She nonchalantly breathed out, looking up in thought as her finger tapped her chin.

Nishinoya's eyes flashed, going straight for the Garigari-kun ice cream freezer. He pressed his face up against the glass, searching for the aforementioned flavor. His brows furrowed deeper and deeper as he couldn't find it even after looking so many times.

Hitomi covered her mouth with a hand, holding back her laughter. The boy hadn't even questioned such a strange flavor for a popsicle. The second he heard the words out of Hitomi's mouth, he instantly tried finding it for her. The girl couldn't hold in her laughter for much longer, seeing his face contort as he couldn't find the flavor she asked for.

Nishinoya turned to her when her giggles were released. His face was cold earlier from pressing it up against the glass of the ice cream freezer, but now he felt warmth flooding them again after seeing Hitomi's beautiful laughing face.

The girl kept laughing softly, her hand somewhat covering her mouth. "There's no spaghetti flavored Garigari-kun. Do you know how disgusting that sounds!?" After she calmed down, she reached into the freezer herself, pulling out two soda flavored Garigari-kun popsicles. "Actually, they did have that for a little bit, but it obviously didn't do well and it's now out of production. You can get me to try soy sauce Kit Kats, but definitely not _spaghetti_ popsicles." She gently placed the two popsicles in her basket, checking the other snacks she got.

Nodding in satisfaction at the selection, she went to the register to pay. Nishinoya didn't follow her immediately, just gazing longingly at her. A small blush splayed over his cheeks as his heart thumped against his chest.

"Thank you for your patronage." The libero snapped out of it when he heard the standard line being said lazily by the cashier. He rushed to follow Hitomi out of the store. She had turned to say goodbye to him but stopped when she saw him fidgeting. She raised an eyebrow again, unsure of what to make of this situation.

"After final exams, my team is going on a summer training camp. First at Fukurodani Academy and then a week at Shinzen Private High School later in the summer, but we're gonna keep having practice in between…" He started off, reaching into his back pockets for the thing he was hiding before.

Hitomi's brows furrowed a bit as she tried figuring out how any of that had anything to do with her. When Nishinoya was done fishing through his pockets, his hands remained behind him as he continued fidgeting in place.

"I won't be able to see you for a while…maybe even a whole month!" He explained, thrusting his hands out towards her, a small piece of paper and a pen in them. "P-Please give me your number!" He shouted, tightly shutting his eyes and bowing his head.

Oh, so that's what this was.

It was just a way to get her phone number.

Hitomi scowled. "Is that why you were acting like that earlier? Because you thought being nice to me would make me give you my number? What, you don't think other boys haven't tried that before?"

Nishinoya's head jerked back up, his eyes wide. "E-Eh? N-No! I was jus—"

She cut him off with a scoff as she turned her head away. "You're just like everyone else, aren't you? The only reason why we even keep meeting up here is because you're so insistent on barging into my life even after me repeatedly telling you to leave me alone. We're acquaintances at best, and only because you keep trying to—" She cut herself off when she turned to look at him again.

The small paper in his hands had been crumpled up, his grip tightening on it as his hands shook slightly. He was biting the inside of his cheek in frustration. Not frustration in her, but frustration with himself for seemingly having caused her discomfort. There were clear signs of disappointment in his eyes as he looked down, a gloomy aura surrounding him.

Wow. That was way harsher than she meant it to be…but, why was it? It's what she would have said to anyone else. In fact, she's most certainly said even worse things to other guys. So, why was she feeling guilty now? Why did that face he was making cause her heart to plummet like this? "Nishinoya-kun, I—"

The boy quickly balled up the paper in his hands, the loud crumpling sound cutting her off. He shoved it back into his pockets. He looked back up at Hitomi with a smile, but she could easily tell it was one filled with pain.

"It's okay, Hitomi-chan! I understand! You don't have to give me your number! I don't want to be like that creepy manager guy we met before in the store!" He tried reassuring her. He was speaking extra loud again. This time, trying to mask his sadness.

"I'm sorry!" He bowed deeply to her. "I'll head back now. Get home safely!" He shouted, his cheery façade fading instantly once he turned around. He wasn't even waiting to see her off first this time.

"Nishinoya-kun!" The boy turned back around with innocent eyes. Hitomi's own eyes were wide, her hand hovering over her slightly agape mouth. As if she couldn't believe that she had called out to him.

Her hand lowered as she closed her mouth, her lips forming a thin line. Her hands tightened on the handles of the plastic bag as her eyes shifted around with uncertainty. Nishinoya waited patiently for her.

Finally, Hitomi sighed softly, revealing her eleven-digit number.

For a moment, Nishinoya didn't react. Once he realized what had just happened, his eyes slowly widened and his jaw dropped. "W-W-Wait! Can you repeat that! I wasn't ready! Please!" His face had completely brightened up as he dug into his pockets for the paper and pen again.

Hitomi turned around. "I'm not repeating it. It's not my fault you weren't listening properly the first time." She refused adamantly.

"Nooo!" Nishinoya shouted in despair, his hands rubbing furiously at his hair. He laid the paper onto his palm, writing down the numbers he remembered. "Was it this…Or this…No, no wait…Maybe it was this?" He mumbled to himself, trying his hardest to recall the numbers and scribbling them down frantically.

The girl peeked over her shoulder at him. He started hitting his head, as if it would somehow jog his memory. "Come on! If I can't even remember something as important as Hitomi-chan's number, how am I even gonna remember any of the stuff I need to pass the final exams?!" He berated himself.

Hitomi smiled gently, chuckling at his antics. She left him to it, returning home.

Once she arrived, she was greeted as usual by her servants. She gave the bag of snacks to Chiyo, taking a few for her study session tonight. She secluded herself in her study, looking over her notes in preparation for the final exams. Just as she was about to head to bed, her cell phone rang.

It was an unknown number. "Hello?" She answered hesitantly.

"AH! Hitomi-chaaaaan! Finally! I got it! I had to call a bunch of different numbers because I couldn't remember it correctly, but I finally got it right!" Nishinoya exclaimed joyously.

Hitomi almost laughed, mentally apologizing to the people he might have disturbed tonight. "Good for you. If that's all, I'm about to go to sleep." She replied with false coldness.

"Okay! Sweet dreams, Hitomi-chan! I'll definitely be dreaming about you!" He responded. Hitomi ended the call without even saying goodbye. She rolled her eyes and sighed at his cheesy line.

She got underneath the covers as she tapped a few times on her phone's screen.

_Weirdo_

_Would you like to save this name in your contacts?_

_Yes No_

Hitomi chuckled as she pressed the 'Yes' button. She set her phone down on the nightstand next to her, eventually falling asleep unknowingly with a little smile.


	13. Chapter 13

_From: Weirdo_

_Subject: Good Morning!_

_Text: Good morning, Hitomi-chan! I hope you slept well last night! I was right! I did dream about you! I don't remember what it was about, but you're beautiful even in my dreams! You're definitely still the most beautiful when I get to see you in person though!_

* * *

_From: Weirdo_

_Subject: I Forgot!_

_Text: I forgot to say that I hope you get to school safely, Hitomi-chan! If I were with you, I would walk you all the way to school like your own personal Guardian Deity!_

* * *

_From: Weirdo_

_Subject: I Forgot Again!_

_Text: I also forgot to say that I hope you have a nice day, Hitomi-chan! I miss you already and I can't wait to see you again!_

* * *

Hitomi woke up to a flurry of text messages from one Nishinoya "Weirdo" Yuu. She agitatedly opened her eyes, the sunlight streaming through her curtains slightly blinding her. Her hand darted out from underneath the covers, slamming over her phone on the nightstand.

She unlocked it, sitting up while rubbing at her eyes because of the brightness of the screen. She scrolled through each message, rolling her eyes and shaking her head with a small smile.

His texts were just as cheerful and hyperactive as he was. It was like he was so excited about finally having a way to contact her that he would push the send button prematurely before actually having finished putting down all of his thoughts. He really was just like a little kid.

Hitomi locked her phone without replying. She sat in bed for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She had a feeling that she was going to receive a lot more messages like these, and she was beginning to wonder if she would regret this decision.

It turns out, her hunch was absolutely correct. Throughout the week, she received messages from him constantly. Without fail, he would send her good morning and goodnight texts every day. He'd send her inconsequential things during the breaks between class periods and during his lunch break. Sometimes he would send her some more interesting things like pictures of his practice.

Hitomi largely ignored them. Mostly because she didn't want to get his hopes up too much about her responses, but also because there really wasn't that much for her to say. What was she to write? It seemed a little pointless to reply, 'Good morning' and 'Good night' to every single one of those texts. The most she ever responded was when he would send her pictures of what he was having for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and she would send a picture of what she was eating back.

Despite her lack of responses, she did read all of his texts. Even the short, unnecessary ones. Something that her servants had taken note of.

It was rather obvious, as Hitomi never really used her phone that much before. It was common knowledge that she chose not to make friends. The only contacts in her phone were establishment numbers, business related, or the family servants. As such, she rarely ever used her phone. At most, she would use it to play games. Even then, she would do that in the confines of her own room.

Now, she was actively looking at her phone during her meals and while walking through the house. She even had a small smile gracing her lips nearly every time.

The servants had caught wind of Hitomi's new friend, or rather 'acquaintance' from her bodyguards and Chiyo. They welcomed this change in her, just as they did when her disposition had become more calm and pleasant as of late. Chiyo, especially, was happy for the girl.

Unfortunately, this side of her didn't last for too long, as final exams were approaching. Hitomi checked her phone less and less, choosing to focus on studying. When her already low response rate dropped even further, Nishinoya had questioned if he had done anything wrong.

She had replied with a warning to him. If he failed his exams because he was constantly texting her instead of studying, then he would have to attend remedial lessons and makeup exams, thus missing out on his summer training camp.

The boy promptly started texting her less in favor of studying, albeit begrudgingly. He still always remembered to send good morning and goodnight messages though.

At the end of the week, the final exam period concluded and Hitomi had achieved excellent scores as per usual. It'd be an absolute disgrace if she went to prep school, did all that studying, and still didn't do well on the exams. Fortunately, her hard work showed in her results.

Once again, she was the last one left in the classroom at the end of the day, never in any rush to go anywhere like her peers. She was looking over her exam papers, reviewing the particularly difficult questions despite having gotten them correct and despite the tests being over. Her diligence is what kept her grades up after all.

As she packed up her things, she saw her phone screen flashing inside of her bag. Taking it out, she saw a number of messages from a certain libero.

_From: Weirdo_

_Subject: I Passed!_

_Text: Hitomi-chan! Look! I passed all of my exams! I even got a 45 on modern literature! My worst subject! I get to go to the training camp and it's all thanks to you!_

Attached to the message was a picture of his test papers laid out on a desk. On top of them all was his exam on modern literature, the large, red 45 written in the score box. Hitomi laughed at seeing all of the red markings on every single one of his papers as she messaged him back.

_To: Weirdo_

_Subject RE: I Passed!_

_Text: You still only got just barely above the passing grade. I'd really rather not take credit for that._

She had only tutored him once, and only for that brief period of time in front of the convenience store. Even if she had properly taught him, she still wouldn't have wanted to take credit for such a poor score on a sixty-point exam. It would have shown her own failings as a teacher. Besides, he really shouldn't be so proud of a barely passing grade.

Hitomi started walking back home as she received another message.

_From: Weirdo_

_Subject RE:RE: I Passed!_

_Text: …Suga-san said the same thing…BUT it's true that I have to thank you! There were a lot of reading comprehension questions this time and your tricks really did come in handy. So thank you, Hitomi-chan!_

The girl sighed, a small smile following after it. She locked her phone and put it back in her bag without responding. When she returned home, she was greeted by Chiyo. "Welcome home, Hitomi-sama. Congratulations on finishing final exams."

The girl nodded in acknowledgement at the older woman, handing her the test papers. Chiyo gracefully took them with a bow. "Exemplary marks as expected, Hitomi-sama." The woman complimented as she flipped through the pages. "Shall we have the cooks prepare something special for tonight in celebration?"

"Anything is fine. No need to make such a big deal out of it." Hitomi responded without looking back as she walked up the stairs.

Even so, a lavish dinner was prepared for her that night. After eating, she returned to her room to relax. She lay on her stomach on her bed, watching videos to pass the time. Without exams and without any new material to study, she had far more free time than she was used to.

Eventually, her phone buzzed. She was becoming accustomed to hearing it around this time for Nishinoya's goodnight texts.

_From: Weirdo_

_Subject: Training Camp!_

_Text: I'm going on my summer training camp tomorrow! I'm so excited! But I'm also disappointed that I won't be able to see you for a while, Hitomi-chan! I'll try to text and call everyday so you won't miss me! Good night!_

Hitomi stared at the message, thinking about how her summer vacation would be spent being bothered by him every day. She promptly formulated her response.

_To: Weirdo_

_Subject RE: Training Camp!_

_Text: Please don't._

It seemed as though he had fallen asleep right after since she never received a reply back until the morning in which he sent his standard morning text, seemingly disregarding her last message.

True to his words, Nishinoya did text her every day. It was mostly just the usual good morning and goodnight texts. There were rarely any other messages between. Probably because he was busy with the training camp.

Just as well, because Hitomi was immensely relieved that he wouldn't bother her as often as he let on. Then again, there was a strange bit of emptiness she felt that she couldn't quite pinpoint. Regardless, she much preferred peace and quiet.

One day, in the afternoon, her phone rang. The caller ID read: _Weirdo_.

It seems she spoke too soon.

She hesitantly picked it up. "Hello?"

"UUOOOOHH! HER VOICE IS SO PRETTY!" Hitomi heard faintly, yet clearly in the background. Who was that? She could hear several other boys shouting about as well. Was she on speaker?

"Hitomi-chaaaaaaan!" Nishinoya yelled out in joy, forcing Hitomi to move her phone slightly away from her ear. "I'm having lunch at the training camp with the others right now! I was talking about how beautiful you are and they wanted to meet you!" He continued shouting.

It was like he didn't understand how well the phone was picking up his voice. Assuming she was on speaker, he probably had the phone away from his mouth and thought that he had to speak louder because of it.

"Is that…_really_ what you called me for…?" Hitomi asked incredulously. She should have expected much from him.

"Yeah!" He enthusiastically answered. "I _told _you! Even her voice is beautiful!" He said to one of his friends, but Hitomi could still hear him with how loud he was. Not like he was trying to keep that secret though.

_Duu…Duu…Duu…_

Nishinoya immediately turned back to his phone when he heard the disconnect tone playing. Hitomi had hung up on him. The other boys around held back their laughter, snorting and chuckling behind their hands.

The Karasuno libero was none the wiser, tilting his head in confusion as his eyebrows furrowed. "Huh…The call disconnected for some reason." He remarked innocently, causing a few others to struggle more in holding back their laughter. "I'll just text her instead! Guys! Let's take a picture for Hitomi-chan!" He suggested, holding his phone out to take a selfie.

Tanaka and Taketora eagerly squeezed into the frame, trying to give off 'cool' vibes. Ennoshita reluctantly joined in while Kinoshita and Narita awkwardly smiled on the side. Fukunaga silently photo-bombed them from the back, holding up two fingers in a peace sign.

_To: Hitomi-chan_

_Subject: Picture!_

_Text: Meet some of my teammates and some of the other guys at the training camp! This is Ryu, Tora, Chikara, Kinoshita, Narita, and Fukunaga! Send a picture of yourself so they can meet you too!_

Nishinoya attached the picture to the message and hit the send button. He set his phone back down onto the table, crossing his arms and smiling in satisfaction as he waited for it to buzz. Tanaka's and Taketora's eyes were glued to the phone as well, anxiously waiting to see this supposed beauty of his.

"Staring at it isn't going to make her reply faster…" Ennoshita reminded them.

After some time, his phone buzzed with a new text. They all crowded around, taking a peek at the screen as Nishinoya opened the message.

_From: Hitomi-chan_

_Subject RE: Picture!_

_Text: No._

Kinoshita and Narita tried so hard not to burst out laughing, covering their mouths with their hands. Unexpectedly, Nishinoya was the first to laugh, and quite boisterously too. "Haha! I bet she's just shy meeting you guys!" He exclaimed, completely serious. A sweat drop appeared on Ennoshita's temple. He was about to say something but shook his head instead, thinking better of it.

Back in Miyagi, Hitomi was looking at the picture he sent, chuckling at it and the message. He wrote all their names, but she had no idea who was who. She was doubtful that he was conscientious enough to write them down in any particular order.

Also, why was the guy with a shaved head and the guy with a mohawk making those faces? Were they trying to make funny faces? Nobody else in the picture was doing that though?

Hitomi stared at the picture for another moment, seeing how happy Nishinoya looked.

_Save to Photos_

The girl pressed the button, saving the photo onto her phone. She convinced herself that it was because she wanted to keep it for reference in order to know which boys to avoid in the future.


	14. Chapter 14

Hitomi was in the usual convenience store, going on her normal snack run for this week. Lately, she had been going alone and it was mostly very quiet for obvious reasons. Just as expected, she hadn't seen Nishinoya for around three or four weeks now because of his training camp.

At first, she thought everything would resume to being normal but that was hardly the case. She found that coming to the store and realizing that he wouldn't be here as well made the place seem…empty.

Eventually, she became accustomed to him not being here. Although, that's actually how it always was before she had ever met him. In other words, her life returned to how it used to be and yet, she felt a strange sense of loneliness. Of course, she would never openly admit that though.

Well, not _everything_ returned to how it used to be. In his absence, Nishinoya had continued to text her periodically. Today appeared to be no different, as her phone buzzed just as she was picking out a few bottles of drinks to buy.

_From: Weirdo_

_Subject: I Miss You!_

_Text: Hitomi-chan! I feel like it's been so long since I've seen your beautiful face! So long that I could have forgotten what you look like by now! But I could never forget how beautiful you look! I miss you and can't wait to see you again! My training camp just ended today too, so I hope we can see each other soon!_

Hitomi rolled her eyes at his usual corny lines, but there was a small smile on her face nonetheless. Lately, she had begun to reply a bit more often. It was mostly because she was bored. There wasn't much studying to do during the summer vacation, and she had already completed all of her summer homework.

There was only so much she could do at home, and it wasn't like she had any friends. Watching TV, playing video games, reading, and other seemingly fun activities very quickly became mundane when that's all she could do every day during the break. What used to be a reward for studying hard and completing homework was now a repetitive and monotonous task.

_To: Weirdo_

_Subject RE: I Miss You!_

_Text: Did the training camp go well?_

Even so, her replies were always rather short. She was a cold and blunter person by nature, but her responses also revealed her awkwardness. Not that she lacked social etiquette, but it was more of just the unfamiliarity of it all.

She was used to interacting with business partners and people of a higher class. It was the world she was born in. The kind of world that forced her to always put on a mask. To smile and be cordial to the right people. In that sense, she had no problems with interacting with others.

Nishinoya, however, was the only person in her contacts that wasn't a part of this world. He wasn't just some person she had to act nice to in order to be on their good side. He had nothing to do with her family connections and their businesses.

He was an acquaintance that was slowly but surely becoming a real friend.

As such, Hitomi was a bit unfamiliar on how to act. Of how friends treated each other and how they responded to texts. She thought she knew from past experiences, but those people weren't exactly to be considered friends.

Originally, she was curt because she didn't want to get the boy's hopes up. Now, she just simply didn't know how to handle it.

His messages were always filled with enthusiasm, and she wanted to respond in kind but was entirely unused to it. While she convinced herself that she was only responding so much because she was bored, there most certainly was a part of her that wanted to continue doing so just because.

Eventually, she'd be able to text back with more ease and in a gentler way. For now, this would have to do and Nishinoya didn't mind in the slightest. Something Hitomi was grateful for. After sending her reply, she shoved her phone back into her pocket.

Not even half a minute later, she felt the same vibration on her thigh. The girl blinked, setting down the bottle back onto the shelf and taking out her phone again.

_From: Weirdo_

_Subject RE:RE: I Miss You!_

_Text: It was awesome! We fought so many strong teams! We even had a big barbecue on the last day! I made a lot of friends and even saw the Tokyo Skytree!_

Hitomi furrowed her brows in confusion at that. Tokyo Skytree? He had told her before that their training camp was going to be at Shinzen Private High School. Looking the school up on her phone, her confusion increased. The school was in Saitama. How could he have seen the Tokyo Skytree from there?

The girl laughed, realizing that he must have seen just a regular cell tower and mistook itfor Tokyo Skytree. She wouldn't put it past him. It seemed like something he would do, being the happy idiot that he was. She typed back a reply, informing him of his mistake.

Hitomi relocked her phone, returning it to her pocket. Again, within a few seconds, her phone buzzed. She sighed while taking it out, although there wasn't really much annoyance in the single breath.

Nishinoya seemed to laugh off his mistake, noting how even just a regular cell tower looked enormous to someone who's only ever lived in Miyagi. He casually invited her out to Tokyo, suggesting that they could see the real Tokyo Skytree together. While on that note, he asked her where she was and when he could see her next because texting her tonight really made him miss her all the more.

Hitomi looked up in thought, debating on whether or not to tell him she was actually at the store right now. After a moment, she decided to snap a picture of what was inside her shopping basket. She attached the image to her message, letting him know that she was at the usual store.

Instead of putting her phone away again, Hitomi decided to wait for his reply. Except, it never came, oddly enough. He almost always replied within seconds, so it would have been pointless for her to lock her phone and put it back in her pocket. If the previous two times were any indication. However, the one time she decided to wait on his response was the one time he didn't text back immediately.

Even after a couple of minutes, there was still no new messages. Hitomi tilted her head and slightly furrowed her brows in confusion. She shrugged, not thinking much about it. She relocked her phone and shoved it into her pocket.

Finally, she was able to return to picking out which flavor of Mitsuya Cider she wanted to drink for the next week. While she was deciding between the lemon flavor and white peach flavor, she heard the sliding doors chime behind her, signifying another customer entering the store. The chime was coupled with panting, like someone was out of breath.

Hitomi glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening as she saw Nishinoya. He was hunched over with his hands on his knees as his head was bent over, heaving up and down with his chest as he caught his breath. Normally, running this distance wouldn't have fazed him like so. Hitomi knew this from that one time he ran all the way to her school without so much as breaking a sweat.

This probably meant he was incredibly tired. His training camp _did _just end today and from his texts over the past weeks, it was a rather intense training camp. That, and he came here in record time. She wasn't sure how far his house was, but the time between her sending him that text and him getting here was only a couple of minutes. For a boy so short, he sure could run fast when he wanted to.

She vaguely wondered if that was due to him being a libero while she picked up a bottle of Pocari Sweat. She set her basket down in the aisle, going to pay for the Pocari Sweat first. Standing in front of the boy, she wordlessly handed the bottle over. He gratefully took it, chugging down half of it.

When he was done, he released a sound of satisfaction, capping the bottle. When he finally looked up at her, Hitomi expected him to beam at her with that blindingly bright smile of his and greet her enthusiastically as usual. It seemed like that's how things were going to go at first until Nishinoya laid eyes on her.

He had finally caught his breath from running here, but now it was caught in his throat as his heart pumped erratically. Even though she hadn't seen him in person, he sent plenty of pictures to her over the course of the training camp. Nishinoya, however, hadn't seen any of Hitomi for the entire duration.

Seeing her today felt like the first time he ever saw her. Except, he didn't remember his heart fluttering so much the first time. "…Beautiful…" He breathed out, like he hadn't meant to say it aloud. It sounded like his thoughts just slipped out.

Hitomi slightly flinched, seeing his loving gaze paired with his genuine voice. She quickly turned around, walking back to the drinks aisle where she left her basket. "Again with that? I can't believe you ran all the way here just to tell me that." She said incredulously, hiding her embarrassment.

The libero laughed, his boisterous personality returning. "I really wanted to see you, Hitomi-chan! I missed you a lot! I was so sleepy after coming back from the training camp, but after seeing your text, I instantly woke up!" He smiled at her, an excited blush forming on his cheeks. "The next thing I knew, I was running full speed here!" He laughed again, like this was the most normal thing in the world to him.

Hitomi peeked at him over her shoulder, a small tint of pink dusting her cheeks. She should have been used to all of his cheesy lines already, so why did today feel different? Maybe it's because she had only been reading them lately and that she hadn't actually _heard_ them in a while. The girl turned back around, shaking her head as if she was trying to rid it of these thoughts.

"You're so reckless. If you're tired, then you should rest. You'll end up hurting yourself one day if you keep this up." She admonished him. Even though she used her usual harsh tone, she was genuinely concerned.

Nishinoya brightened up, and she could almost see him with a tail wagging back and forth. "Are you worried about me, Hitomi-chan!? Are you!? Does that mean you missed me too!? Did you? Did you?" He eagerly asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet all around her.

The girl just gave him a blank face. "Forget I said anything. You can just drop dead for all I care." She stated coldly, giving her full attention to picking out snacks.

Instead of being dejected like other boys, Nishinoya had actually shivered in pleasure. He wrapped his arms around himself. "Ahh~! Even Hitomi-chan's cold side is refreshing after so long~!" He mumbled to himself, a look of bliss coming over him.

Hitomi rolled her eyes, but there was the smallest smile on the corner of her lips. "The training camp must have been tough if you're so tired." She remarked, changing the topic.

"It was! But it was really fun too! There were so many strong guys there!" Nishinoya excitedly revealed. Unexpectedly, his face turned more serious and the aura around him changed. He looked down at his hands, clenching them into fists. "I need to get stronger too…" He muttered, the determination clear in his voice.

Hitomi stared at him, not used to this serious side of him. She almost looked at him with amazement. She turned back to the shelf, blinking a few times. "And how are you going to do that?" She asked casually, trying to think of something else but the way he looked just now.

"I'm trying to improve my over-hand tosses! If I get better, I'll be able to set the ball to the rest of the team!" He exclaimed, but in the very next moment he had a frustrated frown. "I really suck at over-hand passes though…"

Hitomi's brows furrowed. "Isn't that illegal…?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She was pretty sure that a libero isn't allowed to use an over-hand toss if it's setting up an attack. Then again, there were so many rules around the libero position that she could be forgetting or misremembering something.

The excitement immediately returned to Nishinoya's face. "Hitomi-chan! You know about volleyball?!" She could almost see the imaginary tail wagging again.

Her eyes shifted around uncomfortably. "…I just happen to know a little about it is all…" She said with unease in her voice. There's no way she was going to reveal that she actually knew quite a lot about the libero position. In fact, she _only_ really knew about the libero position. It was because of a certain libero too.

Hitomi knew close to nothing about the sport, but Nishinoya's passion for it piqued her interest. She had checked out various volleyball books from her school's library and even watched some videos. She only read the sections dedicated for learning about liberos though and of course she'd never let him know that.

"That's awesome, Hitomi-chan! You're so smart! You really know everything!" Nishinoya eagerly complimented her, but she brushed it off. "If I set it up behind the mid-line, then it's fine! The libero from Aobajohsai did it during our match!" He explained, jumping and using his hands to gesture.

He continued to fervently explain to her all about the kind of training he was doing and what he was hoping to improve on in the future as she paid for her snacks. They were met with the warm, summer air as they exited the air-conditioned store. "Uhm! Hitomi-chan!" Nishinoya shouted out before Hitomi could say goodbye to him.

She gave him her attention, seeing him slightly fidgeting in place. He was clearly nervous, like that time he asked for her phone number. "Do you…Do you want to go out somewhere some time!?" He yelled, as if he had to get it out before he doubted himself. "It's fine if you don't want to!" He quickly added, remembering her reaction from last time.

Hitomi knew exactly what his intentions were, but she strangely didn't feel that same anger she usually did when someone asked her out. She knew by now that he wasn't entirely like the others.

She also didn't want to see that disappointed and pained expression of his like the last time she rejected him. She didn't think she could take it. Not anymore.

"If…If it's just as…friends…then I guess it's fine…" Hitomi answered hesitantly. The other, more guarded Hitomi inside of her was screaming at her to take it back and reject him so that she wouldn't be hurt in the future.

For once, she didn't listen.

While her hesitation was largely in part due to her apprehension in opening up to the boy, it was also something else. The idea of hanging out with friends was so foreign. Even up until now, she had fooled herself into thinking that Nishinoya was an acquaintance at best. She knew now that she could no longer think that way.

He _was_ becoming a friend, whether she wanted to keep denying it or not.

What did friends do together? Where did they go together? All of her studying never prepared her to feel this way.

While Hitomi was battling her emotions, Nishinoya was over the moon. He was exuding happiness, his aura almost becoming littered with sparkles. "What do you want to do!? We can do whatever you want, Hitomi-chan!" He shouted, unable to contain his excitement.

Not knowing how to go about the situation, Hitomi fell back on the one thing she was comfortable with: Studying. "You haven't finished all of your summer homework, right? We could go to the library…" She suggested with far less excitement.

In the midst of all of his volleyball training, Nishinoya had completely forgotten that summer homework even existed. His face slowly went from one of joy to one of blank realization, to one of absolute dread and despair. Ennoshita had made sure to let him and Tanaka know that he wouldn't save them this year. So, if they didn't know something, they would be doomed.

The boy gave a fierce ninety-degree bow. "Please teach me, Hitomi-sensei!" He basically begged.

Hitomi stepped back in a sort of double take. She knew this enthusiasm was different from before. He wasn't just begging her because he wanted a date. He was begging her because he really needed help. Thinking back on all of his test scores during the final exam period, she shouldn't have been too surprised. The girl laughed a little, the sound tickling Nishinoya's ears. "Okay, I'll help. Just don't complain because I'm a tough teacher." She teased.

Nishinoya beamed at her, shaking his head. "I won't! I promise!" He eagerly took out his phone, opening up the calendar to find a day between of all his matches and practices that he could spend with his beloved Hitomi.

After settling on the day, they bid each other goodbye. As expected, Nishinoya watched Hitomi walk off until he could no longer see her. One hand clutched his phone while the other clutched at his chest over his heart, trying and failing to quell its intense beating.


	15. Chapter 15

Nishinoya Yuu was currently checking himself out in a store window's reflection.

Today, he didn't wear his standard bright T-shirts with their four-character idioms. With the summer heat, he decided to wear something light while still being a bit more stylish than his usual outfits.

He had on a tank top, the top half of it white and the bottom half of it orange. It was paired with a casual, black, open front vest. Since everything was sleeveless, his arms were bare, allowing him to flex in the reflection as he admired his biceps. He nodded in approval to himself with a large smirk, earning a few strange looks from others passing him on the street.

The tank top was loosely tucked into simple, dark gray shorts with a belt looped over the side of his leg on top of his outer thigh. Nishinoya rearranged the single trap of his usual bright red messenger bag that he used for school. He rummaged inside, checking for the nth time today that he hadn't forgotten anything at home.

Notebooks? Check. Pencil case? Check. Supplementary books? Check. Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Library card? Check.

It seemed like everything he needed was there. Not that the contents of his bag had really changed the past nth times. He looked back up at his reflection, returning to checking himself out and leaning forward for a closer look.

His face was nearly pressed up against the window, his hands carefully fixing the stray strands of hair in its regular swept up style. It was particularly hot today, and he worried that the humidity mixed with his sweat might ruin its perfection. Not that he really had any cause to be concerned though, since he was always sweating with this hairstyle during volleyball practice and it never looked out of place.

It was just that this date was making him extra cautious. Well…it wasn't a _date _date, but it was kind of like a date! He could even call it a _study _date! Yeah, that's it! A study date! With his beautiful Hitomi-chan! Well…she wasn't really _his_…but he could dream! In fact, maybe she really could become his at the end of the day!

Nishinoya pulled out his phone, checking the time. It was a couple of minutes before the designated meetup time. He had been anxiously waiting for the love of his life for the past twenty minutes, continuously checking himself out and checking his bag to distract him.

He wondered how Hitomi would look for today. He'd only seen her in her uniform once, and all the other times were just casual wear. Mostly just over-sized T-shirts and regular pants. He fidgeted in place, growing even more anxious and excited. Would she dress up for today? After all, it wasn't just a simple errand that she was going on. They'd be spending a lot of the day together!

He started fantasizing about it. Today, they were planning on going to the public library so that she could help him with his summer homework. Nishinoya looked up in thought, imagining Hitomi as a teacher.

In his mind, he saw her with a crisp, white dress shirt tucked into a tight, black pencil skirt. Below the skirt, he could see her sheer stockings hugging her long legs, disappearing underneath high heels. This Hitomi was even wearing fake glasses to complete the look, her hair tied up into a bun with a pencil threaded through the middle of it to keep it together. She was holding a ruler in one hand, gently hitting the end of it into the palm of her other hand.

"_What a bad student…If you get this question wrong too, I'll have to __**punish**__ you." _She said, emphasizing her last words with a harsher slap of the ruler into her hand. Nishinoya shivered with pleasure, his eyes becoming half-lidded in bliss and his lips turning into a stupid grin.

"You look like a pervert…" Hitomi's beautiful accusatory voice invaded his ears. She didn't even want to know what he was thinking about just now. "…and in broad daylight too." Nishinoya's eyes opened wide, excitedly turning to the voice. She was observing him with clear disgust, but the boy was focused on other things.

She really did dress up for today. For him? What an honor! He felt his heart thumping against his chest. Much harder and faster than when he was fantasizing about a teacher version of her.

Hitomi's outfit was also light and casual, yet stylish and it seemed to suit her perfectly. In all honesty, this was _far_ better than what he could have ever imagined.

Today, she was wearing ripped denim shorts paired with a white, V-neck shirt half tucked into them. On top was a thin, olive green cardigan with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. A sleek necklace rested in the space just below her collarbones.

Even more striking was that her long hair was tied up into a ponytail, exposing the nape of her neck.

An exposed neck, or rather specifically, the nape of the neck held a certain amount of sex appeal. Although, this is more of an old-fashioned view from the prominent age of Geishas. Of course, there are still some people that find this part of the body particularly attractive, but it seems uncommon or out of place in current society where skin is shown much more freely and in greater abundance. Nowadays, it's more likely for people to focus on other things.

Nishinoya was one of the types that never quite understood that elevated level of appeal…until now, of course.

The boy was completely speechless, not even processing what she had said to him. He didn't even dare to blink, fearing that this beauty, far exceeding all of his imaginations, would disappear right before him. It was like he'd never even seen a girl until today. Like he'd never truly experienced beauty until now.

He felt blessed.

It wasn't until Hitomi snapped her fingers directly in front of his face when he came to his senses. "Hello? Anybody home…?" She asked, waving her hand at him.

Nishinoya flinched, a deep blush rising through his cheeks. "H-Hitomi-chan! Y-You're absolutely glowing today!" He shouted a little too loudly, attracting even more attention from passerby. His voice was already loud normally, but the sudden erratic beating of his heart was making him feel strange. It was like he was yelling even more in the hopes that she wouldn't be able to overhear the deep thumping in his chest.

Hitomi looked at him incredulously, raising an eyebrow at him. "Isn't that just because we're meeting when the sun is out?" She surmised with doubt. It was true that they had always only seen each other at night when she came to the convenience store. The only other time was when he surprised her at her school, but the sun was already partially setting then. Today, they were meeting during the day when the sun was shining brightly.

The libero furiously shook his head, standing by his statement. "No way! You look beautiful no matter what time of day it is, Hitomi-chan!"

She smiled awkwardly at him, eyebrows still furrowed with skepticism. "Then what makes today so much different?" She chuckled, shaking her head a little and noticing the many stares that they were getting. "Anyways, you're being really loud. I hope you remembered that we're going to a _library_. Try not to get us kicked out." She teased, but there was a very clear glint of warning in her eyes.

That look was enough to whip him into action. Nishinoya immediately straightened up and shut his mouth, almost tempted to salute. Hitomi nodded in approval, walking off towards the public library first. Nishinoya still stood behind her, his eyes trained on the back of her neck.

His heart began rapidly thumping again. To him Hitomi's beauty shone even brighter than the sun. So, of course it wasn't the sun that was making her glow! No words could even begin to describe how beautiful she was to him, and it wasn't just because of his poor vocabulary either.

When she realized that he wasn't following, Hitomi turned around and gave him a confused look. Nishinoya jumped, quickly running to her. Once he caught up, Hitomi started walking again.

The boy anxiously tugged at the strap of his messenger bag, glancing every now and then at Hitomi's hand next to him. His fantasies ran rampant again, imagining what it would be like if this were a _real _date. He imagined how soft her hand would feel against his and his face returned to the one of bliss from before.

Suddenly, he felt her poke his shoulder, knocking him out of it. "You're looking like a pervert again…" Hitomi muttered out, avoiding eye contact. Nishinoya just apologized while laughing, realizing that they had already made it to the library.

They found a few empty seats in the middle of other students and Hitomi wasted no time in getting to work. She knew that Nishinoya was more excited at the prospect of being with her on a potential date, but she certainly wasn't going to let him slack off on his summer homework.

She was a tough teacher, indeed, but she was also patient with him. Thank heavens for that, because Nishinoya was really struggling with just about everything. Of course, Hitomi took her job as a tutor seriously. She didn't give him the answers outright. She explained the base concepts of the problems, letting him figure out the rest once she helped enough. While he was doing his best to solve things on his own, she took the time to catch up on some reading.

While he was grappling with an especially hard question, Nishinoya's ears perked up from hearing some guys around them whispering.

"Hey, you see that chick over there? The one reading, in the green and white with the ponytail? Isn't she just smoking?"

"Dude, where have you been? I've had my eye on her since she walked in! She could be a model or something!"

"I know, right? But who's the guy sitting with her? Her boyfriend?"

"Naaah! There's no way! He's so small, like a little kid or something!"

"Haha, you think? Maybe she's tutoring a junior high school student."

"Yeah, or even an elementary school student!"

The more he heard, the angrier Nishinoya got. Once again, he was being underestimated because of his size and stature. Even worse, they were leering at Hitomi just like that creepy manager guy from the convenience store!

He tightly gripped his pencil, nearly breaking it. More and more veins were popping up on his forehead and temple as he gnashed his teeth together in order to hold in his wrath. His aura grew more and more menacing as his eyes looked as if they were replaced with flames. Just when he was about to pop, his angel's voice broke through the haze of rage.

"Nishinoya-kun…" Hitomi tapped her finger against the question on the page. "For this question, I remember reading a book that explained it really simply. If I recall, it should be in this aisle." She commented, jotting down the name of it and the section it was in on a sticky note.

"Uoohh! You're so helpful, Hitomi-sensei! I'll find it right away!" He exclaimed with a sort of whisper-shout as she handed it to him. Hitomi watched him walk off until he was out of sight. She then immediately turned to the boys who were whispering earlier with a fierce glare.

It had been a while since Hitomi had to use such an icy glare with this intensity. Of course, she was cold to any guy that approached her, but there hadn't been too many persistent types that annoyed her enough to use this look. The last time she used such a cold look was probably the first time she met Nishinoya.

Even so, it seems she hadn't lost her touch because the boys flinched, a cold sweat coming down on them. She slowly walked over to them with calculated steps, the scowl on her face never easing up. When she reached their table, she looked down at them menacingly.

Hitomi was already considered quite tall compared to the average Japanese female, but she seemed even more intimidating standing right in front of them and because they were still seated so they had to look up at her.

"The library is a place for studying and reading, not gossiping. If you insist on doing the latter, I would appreciate it if you would either keep it down or kindly leave." Her voice was just as icy as her glare.

The boys gulped, shakily nodding their head. "S-Sorry!" They apologized, but it meant nothing to Hitomi.

"I didn't come here fishing for an apology, just to issue a warning." She told them bluntly. The girl flipped back around, promptly returning to her seat.

"Geez! That was harsh! And she was pretty too!"

"Yeah, let's go! That completely killed my mood!"

Hitomi rolled her eyes as the two boys gathered their belongings and left. She watched them, shaking her head with disapproval. She soon heard others whispering around her. No doubt about her attitude just now. She turned to them with a glare as well, effectively shutting them up. Everyone hurriedly looked down at their books or papers, avoiding meeting her icy eyes.

The girl sighed, propping her head up with her chin leaning into her palm. She was used to this, to the point that it was normal. People talking about her behind her back was nothing new. She'd gotten that pretty much her whole life. No matter what she did and no matter where she went, she was judged.

Of course, that could be because of the way she handled things, but regardless of this situation, why did she have to give people kindness and respect even in times where the other person definitely didn't deserve it? What, she had to be nice because she was pretty? Because this cold personality 'didn't suit her' or something ridiculous like that? Because this didn't fit their warped image of her?

What utter nonsense.

The whispers didn't bother her. Hitomi couldn't care less what strangers were saying about her. What bothered her was that they were also harshly judging Nishinoya. If she weren't here, there's no way he would be getting this treatment.

Sometimes, he would get looks from others because he was being loud, but those looks were understandable. They were looks of annoyance at his volume, not looks of criticism for absolutely nothing like today. Any other time, nobody would have bat an eye at his height or even notice him at all.

Everyone would have normally gone about their own business, but just by simply being _next_ to her, Nishinoya was subject to all these judgmental gazes. From doing nothing but trying to learn and having her tutor him, he was being gossiped about.

Why? Because 'someone like him' couldn't possibly be around 'someone like her'? Because 'a guy like him' wasn't their idea of the kind of person that she would hang with? So, people had to make up some ridiculous situation that would explain his presence around her?

People really are disgusting.

That fact was something Hitomi had been slowly forgetting the past few months, but this day was a very clear reminder to her. It was just like…in the past…with…

The girl gently shook her head, as if to try to rid it of these thoughts. Maybe coming out here with him was a bad idea after all. Not that it was any of his fault, just that people really are terrible.

Hitomi looked up when she heard a pair of feet shuffling towards her. Nishinoya had finally found the book that she was talking about. He excitedly held the book in his hands, his arms sticking straight up as he held it over his head. He was rushing towards her with a bright smile. It was like a little kid who had found a rare trading card and was eager to show it off to his friends. She chuckled, hiding her smile behind her hand.

Well, at least her direct company wasn't all that bad.


	16. Chapter 16

"I _told_ you before to keep your voice down and not get us kicked out." Hitomi admonished Nishinoya with a pointed look. The libero avoided her eyes, fidgeting in place. Although, rather than from nervousness or shame, it was more like he was antsy. It was like he was holding back what he wanted to say.

The two of them had been kicked out of the library for being too much of a disturbance, or rather, for _Nishinoya_ being too much of a disturbance. He had gotten loud and angry at some boys whispering around them.

Hitomi had largely silenced the whispers earlier when she told off another pair of boys for gossiping in the library. Unfortunately, this peace did not last long because these new boys had come in after that confrontation. As such, they hadn't witnessed her scolding and were unaware of the ensuing wrath when they started their own whispering. Except it was Nishinoya who eventually couldn't take it anymore, pouncing on them with a growl and earning him, as well as Hitomi, a ticket out of the public library.

"…I didn't like the way they were looking at you…or talking about you!" The boy finally shouted out, his brows furrowing deeply with the frown on his lips.

Hitomi gave him a slightly incredulous look. "_And you're sure that it's not because they were also making fun of your height?_" She thought but didn't say aloud because she knew it was a sore subject for him.

Well, it was true that those boys were being incredibly rude and their words were no better. In fact, they were far more vulgar than the previous pair of boys. Hitomi sighed and raised an eyebrow at him. "What does it matter? I couldn't care less what they were saying. I'm already used to having those things being said about me anyways. I ignored them, so why couldn't you?"

"You shouldn't have to get used to it!" Nishinoya declared vehemently, almost surprising the girl. It was obvious that his anger wasn't directed at her but at the situation. She knew that, but his genuine distress was a bit surprising and sort of heartwarming.

Hitomi had met plenty of guys who were the 'chivalrous' type. The kind that had the angle of being nice to women, thinking that it somehow warrants romantic feelings or a reward of some sort. The kind that acted gentlemanly and put down other men for filthy and predatory behavior when they, themselves, were acting just the same but just in a subtler manner.

Nishinoya Yuu wasn't playing that card. In the past, Hitomi wouldn't have hesitated to pin him as such a type. After getting to know him and seeing his expression now, she knew that wasn't what he was doing. He might be a bit of a pushover when it comes to women, but he understands the boundaries.

For that, Hitomi was surprised. Not because she didn't expect him to be respectful to women, but because she was so wholly unused to this. By now, she understood that he was purer and a bit more naïve compared to the guys she was surrounded by thus far, but that didn't mean she would know how to react to such wholesomeness when all she knew was to be cold and uncaring.

The girl looked away in embarrassment. "If you're going to react that way every time a guy talks about me like that, you're going to end up making a lot of enemies." She remarked, starting to walk off in a random direction.

Nishinoya instantly followed her. "I'll fight them all if they lay a hand on you, Hitomi-chan!" He announced with absolute confidence, and Hitomi didn't doubt him at all.

"But…" He started again, looking sheepish. "…I'm sorry for getting us kicked out. Especially after you came all this way just to help me with my summer homework!" He finished with a respectful bow. After a moment, he was still in the bowing position but raised his head slightly to peek up at Hitomi. "…You're not mad…are you…?" He asked with hesitation, his face donning an apprehensive look.

No, Hitomi wasn't mad at all. If anything, it was almost refreshing being around him. Not that she would admit that though. She was a tad annoyed about being dismissed from the library, but they had actually managed to finish a majority of Nishinoya's homework so she wasn't too bothered by it. "How are you going to make it up to me if I say I am?" She decided to tease him a little, not actually that upset.

For some reason, Nishinoya started fantasizing again at her question. A faint blush dusted his cheeks as his eyes sparkled with some unusual enthusiasm. "Y-You can punish me if you want, Hitomi-sensei!" He suggested, even though it sounded a bit like he was pleading.

Hitomi just gave him the most deadpan expression, but there was a clear aura of disgust surrounding her. On second thought, maybe he _wasn't_ so pure and naïve. What did they call these types of people? Closet perverts? Yeah, maybe he's that instead.

Hitomi should have left when she found him at their meeting spot with that gross, blissful look on his face earlier. With what he just suggested and how he referred to her, she now had an idea of what he was imagining at that moment. She promptly turned around without a word, continuing forward. "H-Hitomi-chan! Wait!" Nishinoya shouted after her, frantically following.

He fell into step with her, glancing at her from the side every so often. His peeking was obvious, but Hitomi only ignored him while she walked. It wasn't until they had reached a destination that he realized he had no idea where they were going.

Nishinoya glanced up, reading the sign at the top of the building. They had arrived at a cozy café, presumably for lunch. Noticing his momentary silence, Hitomi addressed him. "It's around lunch time, so I figured we could come here. They seem to have good reviews and I heard they have a new shaved ice flavor…" She mentioned with a hint of excitement that she tried to unsuccessfully mask.

Hitomi had never been to this café, but she had also never really been into town all that much. There really wasn't a need when you had no friends and you had a handful of servants to answer your every call. Knowing that she was to spend the day with Nishinoya, however, made her research places to go beforehand.

This cute café had come up in her search, and Hitomi was enamored with it. She was known to have quite a sweet tooth, given how often she buys snacks and candies at the convenience store. While browsing their website, she came across their promotion of a new shaved ice flavor. That, along with the fact that they also sell regular food, sealed the deal for her.

Nishinoya noticed the sparkle in Hitomi's eyes. He felt his cheeks heat up again and his heart thumping rapidly against his chest. It was a good thing that Hitomi was looking away in embarrassment, otherwise she would have noticed how deeply he was staring at her.

What was this? She was so cute! It was like all of his troubles in this one moment had suddenly just disappeared. The anger he felt at strangers talking about her and the worry he had when he thought she was mad at him were so easily washed away with her presence.

If he felt like this now, he couldn't wait to see how it'd feel when she gives him a full and genuine smile.

The libero beamed up at the tall girl, flashing his pearly whites. He swiftly stepped forward and opened the door, holding it open for her. She thanked him as she walked in, feeling refreshed as the cool, air-conditioned air blew over her. The two of them waited at the entrance for a waiter to seat them.

A young man in the café's uniform listlessly walked over to them, noticing Nishinoya first. What the—a little kid?! He mentally sighed at the prospect of having to serve another brat. "Welcome! How many are we expecting?" He gave the standard greeting with fake enthusiasm.

"Just two, thank you." Hitomi responded, catching his attention for the first time. The waiter was so focused on the idea of having to deal with another 'child' that he hadn't even noticed who that 'child' was with. When his eyes met Hitomi's, he gulped. What a beauty! Time to turn on the charm!

He picked up two menus, his posture instantly straightening up and his fake enthusiasm turning into real enthusiasm. "Right this way, Miss!" He exclaimed, seemingly ignoring her direct company now. He led them over to a small booth by the windows with a pep in his step. "These are the best seats in the house! Just for you, sweetheart! I'll be right back with some water!"

Hitomi gave a small grimace as he left. Ugh, she knew exactly where this was going. Maybe she should have researched the employees at this establishment too.

"Wow! That's super nice of them! No wonder they have good reviews!" Nishinoya complimented without a hint of sarcasm or suspicion. Hitomi blinked at him. He was either ignoring the waiter's ulterior motives because she had told him off earlier or he was completely clueless. She figured it was probably the latter, causing her grimace to turn into a small smile of amusement.

She doesn't remember the last time she felt so at ease being in public. She's always had to deal with guys like the ones in the library and like this waiter. She was entirely used to that, but she was never so relaxed. Hitomi smiled to herself as she watched Nishinoya eagerly open up the menu, his eyes darting to and fro to figure out what he wanted to order.

The waiter soon returned with two glasses of water. He set them down and took out his notepad, not taking his eyes off of Hitomi. "Can I get anything for you, sweetheart? Maybe my number?"

Nishinoya's ears immediately perked up at the obvious pick-up line. His head jerked up to glare at the waiter, but the guy was completely ignoring him, focusing intently on Hitomi. He then took a peek at Hitomi who was, in turn, completely ignoring the waiter. Her words from earlier popped into his head.

"_I ignored them, so why couldn't you?"_

The libero grit his teeth, begrudgingly going back to reading the menu. His hands gripped it tightly as he read. He bit his lip, holding in his outburst because he didn't want to upset her again. After all, he had already ruined their study date in the library. Hitomi was kind enough to give him a second chance by suggesting this place. He didn't want to ruin the day any further, even if it meant dealing with this prick.

The waiter's smile dimmed a little when he realized Hitomi had no intention of acknowledging the pick-up line. "If you want to know what's on the menu, it's me-n-u honey." He tried again to no avail as Hitomi simply flipped the page. No problem, all he had to do was up the charm and charisma.

He tried several more one-liners, each more obvious than the last. With each one, a new vein appeared on Nishinoya's head. Just when he almost couldn't take it anymore, Hitomi's voice interrupted. "I'll start with a cup of Earl Grey tea, please. Nishinoya-kun, do you know what you're drinking?" She asked, her question jolting him out of his rage.

This whole time, he had tried reading the menu but kept getting distracted because of that stupid waiter. He quickly looked down to read the drinks. "Melon soda!" He blurted out the first thing he saw.

Hitomi nodded and then turned back to reading her own menu. "We'll have Earl Grey tea and melon soda then. Feel free to wait on other tables because we still need time to figure out what we want to eat." She directed the waiter without even so much as a glance, easily dismissing him.

The employee was a bit put off at first, but then regained his senses. Oh, so she was playing hard to get, was she? No matter! He smirked, accepting a challenge that didn't exist, and jotted the drink orders onto his notepad. He promised to be back soon, walking off to take care of other patrons.

He returned all too soon, setting down their drinks while staring at Hitomi with those same perverse eyes. He was about to try another line, but she quickly shot him down by ordering before he could even open his mouth. When she was done, she closed the menu and handed it back to him. All while ignoring him and sipping at her tea.

Nishinoya followed suit, ordering right after her while glaring at the waiter. The waiter glared right back but couldn't stay much longer because it was now peak rush hour. He would surely be chewed out by his boss for dilly-dallying, so he reluctantly left with the menus.

Hitomi finished her cup of tea and excused herself to the restroom. Nishinoya nervously glanced at her as she headed to the bathrooms. Was she upset again? At him? He thought he was doing a much better job of keeping his anger in check, but maybe he was wrong.

The boy sighed, rubbing his head in frustration. Nothing was going right today! Then, it dawned on him. Hitomi really dealt with this kind of thing every time she went out? When they first met, had he also bothered her like this? He was getting so annoyed with all the other guys bothering her today. Did Hitomi get this annoyed at him when he approached her for the first time?

His mood swiftly dampened, turning almost gloomy. How could he have been so oblivious? Wait a minute…did she even _want_ to come out here today? Or was it only because he had pestered her so much? He suddenly lost his appetite, and for such a big eater like him, that really meant something.

He was so absorbed in his troubling thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Hitomi was taking quite a long time, nor did he notice that she had yet to return.


	17. Chapter 17

"We are deeply sorry! Please accept our humblest apology!" The restaurant manager respectfully bowed to Hitomi, shaking in his boots as he didn't dare to look her in the eye. She could see the rivulets of sweat rolling down the back of his neck as he bowed his head low. It was even further than the standard ninety-degree bow. If he went any lower, he might even hurt his spine.

His other employees looked on in worry and confusion, wondering why he was so fearful of such a young girl. If they didn't know better, she looked like she could have just been another waitress. They, however, quickly bowed along when they were glared at by their manager.

Even Hitomi was a bit taken aback. She had only come in here to ask for them to prepare her and Nishinoya's meal to go, but it appears she has caused a misunderstanding. She didn't recognize the restaurant manager, but he certainly recognized her.

After some prodding and receiving his business card, Hitomi realized that this café was associated with a few chains connected to her family. By coming to the back room and asking that they package the meals instead, she inadvertently implied that she was dissatisfied with their service.

Of course, dealing with that waiter was less than ideal, but Hitomi wasn't the kind of person to punish an entire establishment for the fault of one worker. In fact, she had expected this kind of thing in any restaurant she went, but it's obvious that the manager wouldn't know or understand that.

She sighed in slight annoyance. It seems as though she was so excited about the food and sweets that she failed to do some more proper research on the establishment. After some thought, this place did seem a little bit more upscale than just a regular, local, mom-and-pop place. Not to mention the prices seemed a little high when she was looking at the menu. Not that she was short of money, but it was something she came to know through experience of her family dealings.

Her small sigh of annoyance and the furrow in her brows caused the manager to jump, his cold sweat worsening. In reality, he had nothing to fear as Hitomi was just frustrated with herself. It wasn't that she wouldn't have come to this café if she knew about its association with her family. Just that she preferred to avoid misunderstandings like this.

She's dealt with certain businesses before on behalf of her father. She didn't mind it, as this is probably the kind of work that she should get used to for the future. She just hated the status that came with it. She hated having to deal with all these people.

The suck-ups. The fakers. The ones that always hid behind a mask.

"As compensation, please do not worry about the cost of your meal! It is completely complimentary!" The manager spluttered out, hoping to salvage the situation.

Ugh. There it is.

The sucking up. The fear in his eyes, and the hope that followed after it. The kind of hope where someone believed they could have something to gain. A scene that could easily turn into an abuse of authority.

Hitomi really hated this.

She didn't like living like this. Being treated like this. She hated the other 'elites' who abused their power on the innocent, and tried her hardest not to act the same.

Of course, she was cold by nature, but not like that. She brushed people off easily for coming on to her but she didn't demean people. Liking someone and treating them with respect were two different things. She tried to give people respect because she knew what it was like to be given none. To be used and then tossed aside right after. To only be considered because there was some sort of merit involved.

The girl sighed again, once more putting fear in the café manager. "There's really no need for that. I just wanted to make your lives easier by ordering our meals as take-out instead since it is rush hour after all. By freeing up a table, you'll have more customer traffic, thus having the opportunity to make more money." She explained, reaching into her bag for her wallet.

"You did nothing wrong, so please raise your head. I'll be paying by credit card." She handed him the shining gold card without so much as another glance, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. The man gratefully accepted it, boisterously and repeatedly mentioning how kind and generous she was.

After that whole ordeal, she finally received two plastic bags of their packaged meals. She thanked the staff and promptly walked back to Nishinoya.

He didn't even notice when she came back. Normally, the moment she stepped anywhere close to him, his head would shoot up like a puppy hearing its owner. He seemed in deep thought, and Hitomi could almost see a gloomy aura around him.

He was only snapped out of it when she placed a bag in front of him. He jumped in his seat, looking up at her in surprise.

The girl held up her own bag. "I asked them to pack up our food instead because it's so crowded in here." She jerked her head in the direction of the exit. "I already paid. Come on, let's go." She said, already walking before receiving a response from him.

Nishinoya quickly stood up from his seat and grabbed his bag of food, so startled that he didn't have time to question it or be upset that he let her pay for both their meals. Once they were outside, Hitomi unwrapped her small sandwich to nibble on it.

The libero just followed her mindlessly, still mulling over his thoughts from earlier. "Hitomi-chan…I'm sorry…" He mumbled scowling down at his feet.

The girl stopped walking, his apology surprising her. She turned to him, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Sorry? For what? You didn't do anything wrong." She asked. She hoped that it wasn't yet another misunderstanding.

Nishinoya's hands tightened into fists. "I was causing trouble again, right? That's why you didn't want to eat at the café…" He revealed, surprising Hitomi once more. Rather than the sadness that she's seen before, it was more like he was just disappointed with himself. She hadn't expected him to be so…sensitive. It wasn't a bad thing, just something unusual on such a bright and positive guy like him.

"It had nothing to do with you. I just wanted to get away from that waiter." She explained, her confusion slowly turning to one of concern when Nishinoya still chose not to look at her.

He grit his teeth, preparing to ask his next question. "When we first met…Was I…Did I…" _Did I annoy you this much?_ He wanted to ask. He really wanted to ask, but couldn't bring himself to. If he finished the question, he might actually get an answer that he didn't want to hear. When did he become such a wuss!? If he was in the wrong, then he should own up to it and make it up to her!

He just didn't want to look bad in front of the girl he likes. He didn't want to be hit with the potential reality that, all along, he was just a nuisance to her. That he was just like that creepy manager from the convenience store, or those annoying boys at the library, or that pushy waiter at the café.

Seeing him struggle, Hitomi got the gist of what he was thinking. "Nishinoya-kun, trust me. If I didn't want to hang out with you, I definitely wouldn't be here right now. If anything, I would've ditched you at the library instead of suggesting we go to that café." She sighed, smiling with sympathy. "Or I could've even left you at the café. You were so deep in thought, I doubt you would've even noticed until it was too late."

He finally looked up at her, meeting her eyes with his own hopeful ones. She looked away, going back to eating her sandwich. He did annoy her a lot at first, but she was beginning to feel thankful for that. Not that she would let him know that yet, of course.

"Now eat your food. There's no outside food allowed in the theaters." She instructed him. Nishinoya tilted his head in question. She pointed in front of them, and that's when he realized they had been walking towards the movie theater. He really wasn't paying attention to his surroundings lately. She just captivated his thoughts so easily.

"There's still time to watch a movie…Unless you don't want to…" Hitomi suggested, causing the darkness in his eyes to completely dissipate. He sparkled, his usual idiotic smile on full blast.

Good. Hitomi much preferred this side of him.

"I want to! I definitely want to!" Nishinoya shouted, immediately digging into his plastic bag. His appetite returned in its entirety as he ate everything in just a few seconds. He always ate with gusto, but this seemed to be for a different reason. The relief that washed over him when Hitomi assured him that he wasn't just being a nuisance was so euphoric. Without all those worries and anxieties, he was free to feel hungry. It was like the type of hunger one felt after a hard day of work. Different from your average, everyday hunger.

Hitomi smiled to herself. A smile that was starting to get wider and wider every time she met with him. He really was like a child. It was like his mom had just told him that he could go and play once he finished all of his vegetables. When he was done, he wiped his mouth with one sweep of his arm and grinned. "That was delicious!" He exclaimed.

Hitomi rolled her eyes. "With how fast you scarfed that down, I don't think you could've tasted anything." She joked, finishing her own sandwich in a much neater way. "So, what movie do you want to watch?" She asked, looking up at the different movie posters.

"Anything you want to watch, Hitomi-chan!" Nishinoya enthusiastically responded. Hitomi sighed, having expected that from him. Honestly, she didn't have a preference, but it seemed like he did.

Despite what he just said, it was clear that his gaze was gravitating to one particular poster. Following his gaze, Hitomi's eyes fell upon an over-the-top action film. She chuckled at how this was obviously the type of movie that he likes. It suited his loud and energetic personality.

Even if she didn't know that, he was already so easy to read. It was all over his face, with his big smile and bright eyes. He was the type that wore his heart on his sleeve, leaving all of his emotions bare. That's why she let her guard down so much around him – because he didn't have one up at all.

"How about that one then?" She asked, already knowing his answer.

When Nishinoya saw that she was pointing at the movie he was hoping to see, his smile somehow grew even wider. His eyes twinkled as he looked up at her. "Sure! Let's watch it! I'll go and buy our tickets!"

Hitomi was already pulling out her wallet. "That's fine, I can pay for mi—" She was cut off when he suddenly grabbed at her wrist. She looked at him in surprise, startled by his swift motion.

His eyes met hers with a fierce determination. "No way! I can't let you pay for it! Especially after you paid for our lunch! Just wait here!" He dashed off without waiting for her response.

The girl stared at his back as he ran up to the ticket booth. Her eyes slowly travelled down to the wrist that he had just grabbed. She cradled it in her other hand as thoughts swam in her head.

She was used to guys always trying to impress her with their wallets, as if her affection could be bought. It was yet another thing men did that disgusted her to no end.

Yet…What Nishinoya was doing now…It didn't seem all that bad.

She couldn't tell what was so different. Maybe because it was a sort of exchange like he mentioned? It seemed fairer since she had already paid for lunch. Not that she would have demanded him to pay for the movie tickets anyhow.

Hitomi shook her head, forgoing these confusing thoughts and feeling a strange heat on her cheeks. When she noticed that Nishinoya was running back to her, an unknowing smile graced her features. He had two tickets in his hand, raising them high into the air and waving them around with an excited smile.

They entered the theater together, finding their seats just before the movie began. Hitomi settled in, peeking at Nishinoya from the corner of her eye. He was nearly bouncing in his seat, anxiously waiting for the movie to start.

The girl chuckled. She wasn't all that interested in the movie, but Nishinoya was certainly amusing. She leaned back into the cushioned seat, relaxing as the movie started.

Unfortunately, her relaxation was cut very short.

"UOOOHHH! SO COOL!" Nishinoya's shouts were continuously heard by all patrons. Pretty much every time something happened on screen, his voice could be heard.

With every shout, Hitomi sank further and further into her seat. She hid her face behind her hand, avoiding the glares from the other moviegoers around them.

Eventually, somebody complained to staff and they came in with a flashlight, shining it directly at Nishinoya. "Excuse me, sir. We're going to have to ask you to leave, as you are being a disturbance."

The libero's face blanched at that and he grew pale. He quickly turned to Hitomi, but she had already gotten up. She was well on her way out of the theater, not even waiting for him. He bowed to the theater staff and quickly followed after her.

Hitomi didn't slow down or stop to wait for him until they made it outside. Watching her from behind, Nishinoya saw her shoulders shaking. Oh, no…She was definitely mad at him now! First the library, then the café, and now this! What was wrong with him!? "H-Hitomi-chan! I—"

He was cut off by the girl's sudden burst of laughter, her shoulders shaking along. His initial confusion was short-lived, very quickly giving way to feelings of awe. He stared at Hitomi's beautiful laughing face with pink cheeks and a clenching heart.

He didn't care about if she was laughing at him or not. He was dedicating all of his brain power to memorizing this one moment. The curve of her lips. The crinkle of her eyes. The way she clutched at her stomach. Her melodious laughter. _Everything_.

"I really can't take you anywhere, can I?" Hitomi joked between laughs. Rather than being angry, she found humor in how ridiculous this all was. Honestly, she should have expected this. A library and a movie theater? The top two places they had to be quiet in? What was she even thinking, bringing him along to both?

She figured she didn't need to warn him again about being quiet in the theaters because she assumed he had already learned from the library incident. Apparently, she was wrong. He really is like a child. Can't sit still and can't behave himself. She laughed again at the whole situation.

When she started to calm down, Nishinoya faced her. "Hitomi-chan! I'm really sorry!" He shouted, clapping his hands together and bowing.

He wasn't looking, but Hitomi smiled gently down at him, her finger wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye. "It's fine! I'm laughing, aren't I?" She asked rhetorically.

It's true that she really wasn't mad. They had finished much of his summer homework, so she didn't mind getting kicked out of the library early. Those boys were also out of line, but she was used to that kind of thing. The waiter at the café was the one at fault. In fact, she commended Nishinoya for being able to hold in his outbursts so well that time. He was definitely at fault for the movies, but she wasn't very invested in the film to begin with. All in all, there wasn't much reason for her to be that upset.

Really, watching him throughout the day was far more interesting. It was like when she saw him being so passionate, talking about volleyball. That childlike excitement and that innocent joy. When was the last time she felt something like that? Though it might not seem like it, his enthusiasm was contagious.

Even so, Nishinoya was still upset with himself. Today definitely could've gone better. _He _could've done better. That's why he was so frustrated.

If he had any hope of seeing Hitomi more and spending time with her, it could not be like today. If this became a repeated thing, he was sure that he couldn't continue to rely on her kindness.

Yet again, the boy was consumed by his thoughts and hadn't even realized that they made it to the convenience store by both of their houses. This is where they agreed they would split ways. The end of their 'date.'

He had to say something. Anything. Whatever it took to get her to give him another chance, so that he could make things right. So that he could prove that he wasn't just a nuisance. That she meant so much to him.

Hitomi stared at him, almost being able to see the gears turning in his head. It was obvious that he was stressing over what to say. Over how to ask her out again. The aura around him wasn't as depressive as that time he lost his volleyball match, but Hitomi still didn't like seeing it. It wasn't like him.

"Nishinoya-kun…" She called out, making him look up at her attentively. "I…had fun today…We should do it again another time." The girl suggested, flashing a gentle smile.

At first, the boy didn't react. As if he hadn't heard her. After a moment, his eyes slowly widened as he processed her words. His cheeks started to hurt, as his smile was getting too big. He quickly stepped forward, closing the gap between them. "Really?! You mean it!?" He asked, looking up at her with hopeful and expectant eyes as he held both of her hands in his.

The sudden close proximity and the heat of his thin hands startled Hitomi. She looked away in embarrassment as she answered. "Y-Yeah. After all, I never got to try the café's shaved ice…"

Nishinoya laughed, the sound tickling Hitomi's ears. "We can go there again! Next time, I'll make sure you have the time of your life, Hitomi-chan! I promise!" He exclaimed, his hands confidently squeezing hers. "I'm gonna go plan out our next date now! Call me when you get home, so I know that you got back safely!" He waved back at her as he ran off.

He had no doubt that she was just saying all that because of her kindness and generosity. She was giving him a second chance, and he definitely wouldn't waste it.

Unbeknownst to him, she really did mean it. Hitomi probably enjoyed today more than she has any other day in the past three years.

She continued waving back, smiling at his retreating form and strangely looking forward to their next meeting.


	18. Chapter 18

It was getting towards the end of summer vacation when, one morning, Hitomi received a phone call from Nishinoya. "Hitomi-chaaaaan! Good morning!" His voice assaulted her eardrums as soon as she picked up.

Hitomi rolled to her side on the bed, looking at the clock on her nightstand with bleary eyes. She rubbed at them as she noted that it was just past seven. "Good morning…" She managed to softly greet back through a stifled yawn. By now, phone calls from him were a normal occurrence and she no longer felt bothered by them.

Nishinoya seemed to be an early riser, or at least, didn't have too many problems with waking up since he sounded so enthusiastic over the phone. She thought it suited his energetic personality. She normally wouldn't be this tired, as she usually woke up around this time anyways, but a particular TV show caught her interest last night, resulting in a marathon of all of its episodes.

"Did you sleep well last night?" The libero asked her. Hitomi smiled as she sat up in bed. It was funny, how genuine he always was. People always asked insignificant questions at the start of conversations, but never actually expected in-depth responses. They were more like obligatory questions that had the same effect as greetings.

When people ask, 'How are you?' and other standard conversation starters like that, they didn't actually care about your response, so long as you said something more on the positive side. Everyone knows this, and that's why they always respond with one or two word answers. If they did otherwise, the person who asked the question would seem surprised or even annoyed at times. These types of questions have mostly become meaningless in society.

For Nishinoya, however, he was fully intent on hearing her answer. When he asked, he truly wanted to hear all about her day, whether it be good or bad. If it was good, he'd be happy. If it was bad, he'd do everything in his power to make it better. He was never anything but sincere.

At first, it was strange to Hitomi. She was used to answering those types of noncommittal questions when dealing with business partners and such. So, she always gave him curt answers because she didn't think he actually wanted anything else. Of course, the libero surprised her by asking follow-up questions like what she did, or what she ate, and so on.

Eventually, she grew more accustomed to giving more meaningful answers, or at least giving answers with more substance. Her days were never really bad, mostly just boring and mundane. One time, she was curious about what he would say if she responded negatively about how her day was, and so she did just that.

The boy immediately switched gears, bombarding her with questions about what he could do to improve her mood. He never asked her _why_ it was that she was unhappy. His sole focus was just how to make her happy.

She thought it was sweet, but then it became a little annoying when he kept insisting that he should do something. She had given him a negative answer out of curiosity, but she apparently opened up a whole can of worms that she didn't want. After that time, she kept a mental note of never doing it again. After all, curiosity killed the cat.

Even if she _was_ having a bad day, she felt it would somehow just get better simply by being able to talk to him like this. He was always so amusing, and Hitomi was starting to come to terms with the idea of calling him a true friend.

"I slept as well as I did any other night." She responded, smoothing down her bedhead with her hand. "I didn't dream about anything." She added on, knowing that he was probably going to ask her if she had pleasant dreams last night.

"That's great! I dreamt about you again, Hitomi-chan, and it gave me an idea! Today's a rest day, so I don't have volleyball practice! Are you free to hang out today?" He asked excitedly. She could almost hear his smile through the phone.

"Yeah, today is fine." The girl answered slowly, masking her small feeling of elation at his suggestion. She pulled the covers back, sliding to the side of the bed and placing her feet into slippers.

"Yes! You won't be disappointed this time, Hitomi-chan! I promise!" Nishinoya declared. Hitomi smiled to herself. She wasn't at all disappointed last time, but she nonetheless appreciated his thoughtfulness.

"Let's meet at the convenience store in an hour!" He exclaimed. At that very same moment, Hitomi moved to stand up from the bed, but his words startled her. She lost her balance, stumbling forward as her hand shot out to land on top of her nightstand to support her. Nishinoya must have heard the banging noise because he frantically asked her if she was alright.

"In…In an hour, you said…?" Hitomi hesitantly asked, unintentionally ignoring his concerned questions.

"Yeah! You don't have to bring anything, Hitomi-chan! I have it all prepared!" He insisted, not catching her tone of uncertainty in his excitement. The girl heard some shuffling on his end. It seemed as though he was in the midst of preparing right now. "I'll see you in an hour, Hitomi-chan! Bye for now!" With that, she heard a click and then the continuous dial tone that signaled the end of the call.

Hitomi slowly pulled the phone away from her ear, looking at it with wide eyes. In an hour!? She did want to see him, but that was so soon! She only just woke up and she hadn't even had breakfast yet!

In the middle of her slight panic, Chiyo knocked on her door. After a short sound of affirmation from Hitomi, the maid walked in rolling a kitchen trolley cart. "I have prepared breakfast, Hitomi-sama." The older woman said as she poured a cup of tea.

Chiyo blinked at her charge, seeing her standing in front of her wardrobe with a serious face. "Are you planning on taking a trip this morning, Hitomi-sama?" The maid questioned. It seemed like a perfectly normal question that a servant would ask in preparation of helping, but Chiyo couldn't quite completely hide her curiosity.

The young lady was not known to go out at all, except for her trips to the convenience store for her beloved snacks. Other than that, she only ever left the home for school related outings or business related ones. In that case, Chiyo would have already been informed of such matters. Which only meant that Hitomi was going out for leisure like the last time.

The maid's face remained unchanged and professional, but her eyes sparkled with interest. Could it be that boy from the convenience store and the one she spent time with before?

Hitomi hummed in thought as she tilted her head, still looking at the clothes hanging in her wardrobe. "Yes, I'm leaving in an hour." She answered, picking out a dress and holding it against her body.

Chiyo couldn't contain her smile then. If Hitomi was thinking about wearing a dress, then it most definitely was an outing for fun and not business.

Until now, if she were to be meeting someone, it would be related to their family contacts and for business. In a lot of situations, her father used her as a sort of trump card, or a wild card at the very least.

As with most things, the world that they live in is widely dominated by males. As such, the Fukumoto family often used the elegant beauty of the daughter to tip the scales in their favor. Many of the partners that the Fukumoto family struck deals with had eligible bachelors for sons. In essence, these people agreed to partner with them in the hopes that they had some chance of being able to join their families with marriage.

The partnership was obviously beneficial in other ways, but many would do anything to impress the sole daughter of the Fukumoto family. Hitomi was well aware of this. That's why she never wore anything impressive when she was told to attend business meetings or anything along those lines.

This meant clothes that revealed minimal amounts of skin. Only pants, no skirts. Not so casual that it would be rude, but not so formal that it would offend. Not too flashy so as not to attract too much attention, but not too bland so she'd still be able to keep their interest for the sake of the business deal.

Of course, wearing a dress to these meetings would be out of the question. So, Chiyo _knew_ it had to be that boy from last time. "Do you require any assistance, Hitomi-sama?" The maid asked, her eagerness leaking into the question.

Hitomi hummed in thought, looking at herself through the mirror. "No, thank you. I'm fine. You can just leave my breakfast here."

"Very well then. How long will you be gone, milady? Should I have the chef prepare a lunch for your outing?" Chiyo asked, slightly disappointed in the young girl's answer. Hitomi paused, remembering Nishinoya's words about how she didn't need to bring anything because he had it 'all prepared.' Deciding to trust him, she shook her head at her maid.

Chiyo gave a respectful bow and then turned to leave. Once she heard the quiet click of the door closing shut, the maid skipped to the servants' room. She couldn't wait to tell all of her co-workers of the new developments with the young lady of the house.

Hitomi pulled out her phone, checking the weather. The day was going to be full of heat and sunny skies. A perfect day to go out and have fun.

She stared at the dress laid on her bed. She had no idea what Nishinoya had planned. It was a looser and flowing dress, so if they were going to be outside for most of the day, she could move around in it easily.

What if they were going to be inside though? In an air-conditioned place? Then she might be too cold because the dress was sleeveless. The girl walked back to her wardrobe, flipping through the hanging clothes. She found a thin, white cardigan that she could wear over the dress if it happened to be too cold.

She nodded to herself, laying the cardigan next to the dress on her bed. She went back to her wardrobe, bending down to peer into its drawers. She pulled out some bins, checking them for her many pairs of shoes. Finding white, ankle strap flats, she smiled triumphantly and took them out, placing them on the floor in front of the bed.

Standing up, she looked at the ensemble. Her finger tapped the middle of her bottom lip, thinking that something was amiss. Walking back, she pulled out a large, straw, sun hat with a white bow tied around it. She nodded to herself, feeling that this fixed everything.

After she went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, Hitomi finally sat down in front of her breakfast with a sigh. She drank the now lukewarm tea, not really having much of an appetite. Her meals normally weren't very large, as she never really ate too much. The chef always gave her more than she could eat so she rarely ever finished everything on her plate.

Staring down at all the food, she thought about what Nishinoya might have planned for today. They definitely wouldn't be going to the library or the movies again, that's for sure. With his personality, she felt like he might have planned something more active.

"…Let's eat a little bit more today…" She mumbled to herself, thinking she might need the extra energy. For once, she finished everything that was prepared for her, thinking that this would surely please the head chef.

She started preparing to leave, folding the white cardigan and placing it in a straw tote bag along with her phone and wallet. She knew he said not to bring anything, but she didn't feel right not bringing her wallet along.

The girl started applying sunscreen as she stared at her face in the mirror, or rather, her hair. Should she do something with her hair? She couldn't put it up into a ponytail like last time because now she had the hat on. Her hands fiddled with the ends of her hair, her fingers threading through it to lightly brush it.

She shook her head, deciding against it and leaving it down as is. She put the bottle of sunscreen and a pair of sunglasses in her bag, checking that she had everything. Folding it closed, she gripped the handles and checked herself in the mirror.

Hitomi stood in front of the full-length mirror, twisting and turning to see herself. The baby blue sundress fit her comfortably, flowing down to just above her knees. The white flats and straw sun hat complemented the outfit perfectly.

…But was a sundress too much? Knowing him, would he take her outfit the wrong way like all the other guys she's encountered? This wasn't a date, after all. It was just a friendly outing, and she was well aware of how he felt about her.

She looked down at herself, wondering if this was a bad idea. It might be, but when was the last time she was able to wear a dress? Before, she couldn't even _consider_ it, so that surely meant something.

It'd be such a waste to never wear something so pretty, and she didn't think she'd have to worry about Nishinoya ogling her like other guys. Even if he did, it wouldn't be with perversion but with more innocent fascination. In fact, she was probably more worried about the people _around_ them.

Hitomi chuckled to herself, imagining his reaction when he sees her. He'd surely shower her with compliments and make a ruckus about how beautiful she is. She looked back up at herself in the mirror, noticing the wide smile on her face. Her hands reached up to lightly touch her cheeks in awe.

Since when was she able to smile like this?

Hitomi convinced herself that it was because she was thrilled to finally wear a dress without having to worry so much.

That it wasn't because of how excited she was to see Nishinoya and how she unknowingly didn't mind if he were to admire her beauty, as she did one last twirl and headed for the convenience store.


	19. Chapter 19

As she got closer and closer to the convenience store, Hitomi kept pulling out her phone to use the camera and check that her hair was still okay. Her fingers threaded through her hair to comb it, checking it for the umpteenth time.

It wasn't the least bit windy and she was walking at a leisurely pace, but she kept checking nonetheless.

With every step, her actions became a sort of ritual. She'd take out her phone, use the camera to make sure she looked just as presentable as when she left, put it away, smooth down the wrinkles in her dress, push up her sunglasses, and so on. Rinse and repeat.

It was strange. She'd never worried about her appearance in this way so much before. Making sure she wouldn't bring shame to her family at business meetings and such was the furthest extent of her worries. If a few small things were out of place, she wouldn't have minded at all. In fact, it might help to deter her suitors but would not completely jeopardize business deals.

That's how it always was. Doing just enough so as not to be rude and doing the minimum so as not to attract too much attention. Even when she put minimal effort, it didn't stop people from fawning over her beauty.

Even though she didn't need to care as much about her appearance, it was exhausting. Always having to keep herself in check. To constantly consider her words with the utmost care. To observe and analyze everyone's actions in order to appropriately respond. To find the critical point where everything was 'just enough, but not too much.'

So, having to worry so much about how she looked for today was so strange. Despite that, she didn't feel the same exhaustion she always felt. It was actually quite invigorating. There was a sense of excitement she never felt before.

She gently placed her hand over her heart, feeling it pulsing.

When Nishinoya's form gradually came to sight, Hitomi felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

He was bent over slightly, his face nearly pressed up against the store's glass. His fingers messed with his little tuft of dyed hair, seemingly unsatisfied with the way it fell over his forehead.

Hitomi chuckled to herself, subtly ignoring the beat of her heart. It seemed that the both of them were constantly checking their hair, worried that a single strand would be out of place and it would somehow make them unpresentable.

The libero was so focused on 'fixing' his hair, that he still hadn't noticed her arrival. Hitomi's smile grew when she saw his small frown of annoyance and the furrow of his brows as he continued to fiddle with the dyed strands.

She cleared her throat to get his attention. "Good morning, Nishinoya-kun." She greeted, looking down to see a rather large cardboard box at his feet.

The boy nearly jumped at her melodic voice, immediately spinning around to greet her back. "Good morning, Hitomi-cha—!" He stopped short when his eyes laid upon her.

With the amount of times that his heart skipped a beat around her and how often his breath got caught in his throat, he was beginning to think that this wasn't good for his health. He'd be damned if he ever stopped seeing her though.

Hitomi continued looking at the large cardboard box on the ground, curious of its contents and oblivious to Nishinoya's awestruck reaction.

Along with the rapid beating of his heart, he felt the pumping blood rush to his face, coloring it a deep red. The color resembled that of Hinata's face the first few times the spiker met Kiyoko. Nishinoya's face may have been even darker than that.

Hitomi had asked what was in the box, but she received no answer. At the silence, she looked back at him to witness a deep red coloring his entire face. Her eyes widened in surprise. She'd seen him blush before, but not like this! It was almost as if he was sunburnt! "Nishinoya-kun…?" She prodded.

"S-Su—!" He managed to barely stutter out with his flaming face. "…Su…?" Hitomi repeated with confusion, tilting her head innocently at him. Somehow, that made him blush even harder. She didn't even know a shade of red that deep could exist on a human being. Was it possible to get a fever like that?

"Su-Su-Sundress! P-PRETTY!" Nishinoya finally blurted out, like he was some sort of caveman with almost no knowledge of human language. At this point, Hitomi could even see the steam blowing out from his ears.

Oddly enough, she started feeling a faint heat in her own cheeks.

This wasn't the reaction that she was expecting. Of course, he had looked on in awe at her beauty before but he'd never turned beet red all over like that. He always spouted some cheesy nonsense about how beautiful she was, but he was never so lost for words before. She thought he was going to say something about how she was shining so brightly that he was being blinded.

His sudden and unexpected bashfulness was giving her second-hand embarrassment, causing her to blush herself. "W-What's wrong with you!? It's just a dress!" Hitomi shouted back, trying to conceal her feelings.

It wasn't just a dress to Nishinoya though. He'd seen her in a skirt when he saw her in her school's uniform, but that couldn't possibly compare to her now in that flowing, baby blue, sundress.

Even their last study date had her in more casual clothes. Of course, she was pretty then too, but a sundress!? His heart was pounding against his chest. As if it were begging to be let out and given to the girl of his dreams.

Nishinoya's blushing still hadn't subsided, and he continued staring at Hitomi. His mouth gaping like a fish, trying to find anything to say. The girl couldn't meet his eyes in embarrassment. Luckily, he wouldn't be able to notice them behind her sunglasses. "Well…thanks…I guess…" She expressed coyly, a contrast to her harshness just earlier. The boy nodded his head furiously in acknowledgement, unable to pull himself together to speak any more.

Hitomi softly laughed into her hand, imagining what they must look like to an outsider. It must have been such an odd situation. "So, what's in the box?" She asked again, trying to change the subject.

"I-It's a surprise!" Nishinoya exclaimed. He bent down to lift it up. As he did so, he noticed the straw tote bag dangling from Hitomi's hands. "Hitomi-chan! I have everything prepared! You didn't need to bring anything!"

The girl gently shook her head. "I know, it's just that this dress doesn't have pockets. I didn't bring much. Just my phone and some sunscreen." She decided not to mention that she also brought her wallet, having a feeling that he would strongly object to her paying for anything today if the topic ever came up.

Nishinoya stopped abruptly, blanching at her words. "Sunscreen! I didn't think about that! I'm sorry, Hitomi-chan! I lied about having prepared everything!" He bowed to her for good measure, causing her to smile.

"It's fine, it's fine." She brushed it off with a wave of her hand, just barely containing her laughter.

The libero shook his head. "Let me carry your bag for you!" He offered as compensation, making her laugh again.

"I said it's fine! It's not heavy at all with so few things in it anyways. Besides, you already have that big box to carry."

He shook his head again, a fire ignited in his eyes. "This is nothing! I wouldn't be a man at all if I let a lady carry her bags herself!" He urged, staring right at her.

Hitomi sighed, less from exasperation and more from simple amusement. "While that's very chivalrous of you, I think we're just going to go in circles about this." She pulled out her phone, making a show of checking the time. "I don't know what you have planned for today, but do we have the time to be doing this?"

Nishinoya gasped loudly. "You're right! We need to get going! We don't want to get there too late! Let's go, Hitomi-chan!" He shouted, quickly walking towards a destination unknown to her.

She easily fell into step beside him, silently watching him with those sparkles of excitement in his eyes. She found herself smiling because of him once again.

How many times was that now? The day had barely started and she couldn't even remember or realize how often she was smiling today.

.

.

.

It was natural for Hitomi to be curious about where they were going. He mentioned that they didn't want to get there 'too late,' so did he make a reservation somewhere? What was in the box?

There were a multitude of things Hitomi could think of, but never in her life would she have guessed that he would bring her to a river…

…to catch crawfish.

She blinked absentmindedly a few times as she watched Nishinoya set down the box and unpack it, revealing several buckets, nets, and other tools.

Hitomi had been on many 'dates' before. Most of them were disguised as one-on-one business meetings with the ulterior motive of trying to get closer to her and gain her favor. There were no lengths those men didn't go to in order to win her over, big or small.

Golfing. Helicopter rides. Three-Michelin-starred restaurant dinners. A movie theater completely rented out for a premiere showing. Fancy car rides. Opera houses. You name it.

Hitomi thought she had seen it all.

But _never_, in her sixteen years of life, had Fukumoto Hitomi _ever_ been asked on a date to catch crawfish.

Well…This wasn't exactly a date though…right?

"We came early enough so there's not a lot of people still! Lucky! This spot is great, you'll see! I found a lot of crawfish the other day, and even the little kids haven't found it yet!" Nishinoya excitedly declared, eagerly fanning out a blanket to lay on the ground.

It wasn't like she was expecting anything grandiose in the first place, but…crawfish hunting? It was like his proposal with the popsicle stick all over again! The very idea had her bursting with laughter, the angelic sound flitting through Nishinoya's ears.

His head jerked towards the sound, his eyes witnessing yet another beautiful sight. Her eyes were shut tight with glee, one hand hovering over her mouth and the other clutching at her stomach.

He wasn't sure what she was laughing at, but if he could let her be like that all the time, he'd take her out to catch crawfish any time of the year.

"Only you could come up with something like this, Nishinoya-kun!" She announced between her laughs, a finger rubbing at the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I think this will be interesting." She said after calming down.

The idea was almost absurd, but she was already having way more fun than she'd ever had with any of those other men.

"AH!" Hitomi flinched at Nishinoya's sudden shout. "I messed up again! I'm sorry, Hitomi-chan!" He bowed.

The girl tilted her head at him, raising an eyebrow in question. "M-Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…" He explained, looking down in shame. "I wouldn't want your dress to get dirty, especially when you look so nice…"

Hitomi gave a chortle. "It's fine! Like I said, it's just a dress, so don't worry about it." She knelt down on the blanket, sifting through the box and getting out a bucket for herself. "Besides, I've never caught crawfish before. I'd like to try it." She gave him a soft smile.

Nishinoya's eyes twinkled with delight. "Never!?" He asked in disbelief. She shook her head. "Not even once!?" She shook her head again. "Not even when you were a kid!?" She shook her head a third time.

The boy puffed out his chest. "Don't worry, Hitomi-chan! I'll show you the ropes and teach you all the tricks! Leave it to me!" He proudly proclaimed, immediately setting everything up with even more vigor.

Catching crawfish…It seemed like such a normal thing to do. Maybe not at their age, but it was common for young children. Hitomi had never gotten the chance to experience such things though.

Looking on at his profile—seeing his eagerness and excitement—Hitomi's smile grew. This was nice. To be treated like any other person. This was unorthodox in her world, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

True to his word, Nishinoya really did teach her everything from the beginning. His explanations weren't exactly the best due to his limited vocabulary and his excessive use of onomatopoeias, but she got the gist of it after watching him a few times.

He certainly seemed to be a pro at it, catching far more crawfish in the time that it took Hitomi to catch just one.

After a while, Hitomi sighed in exhaustion. This wasn't like any sport she's done before. Not like fencing or horseback riding in the slightest. It wasn't that she had no athleticism at all, but catching crawfish was much more tiring than she expected. It required the use of the whole body, constantly bending down and getting back up, trekking through the river. With the addition of her dress, she had to be extra careful not to get it _too_ dirty.

Seeing her sigh, Nishinoya immediately became attentive. "Are you okay, Hitomi-chan!? You can rest if you're tired! I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner!" He stood close in front of her, looking up at her with concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine. It's normal to be a little tired." She tried pacifying his worries.

"We can take a break! My mom packed us lunch!" He led her back to the blanket, pulling out a few bento boxes from his bag. Like the gentlemen he is, he served her first. Opening up a bento box, laying down a pair of chopsticks on a handkerchief for her, and pouring her some tea from a thermos.

Hitomi bowed her head in thanks, softly clapping her hands together and saying, "Thank you for the food." She tentatively took her first bite of the standard Japanese lunch, eyes widening. "It's delicious…"

Nishinoya laughed joyously. "You look like you've never had tamagoyaki before, Hitomi-chan! My mom's cooking is definitely the best!" He shoved his face with food, as if to prove his statement.

The girl smiled back, finding the gusto with which he ate to be a little endearing. "To be honest, I don't usually get to eat typical Japanese cuisine…" She trailed off, unsure if she should have revealed that information.

The libero's eyes widened in realization, remembering something. "That's right! When we text each other pictures of what we're eating, I almost never know what you're eating! What kind of food do you usually eat?" He asked, leaning closer in interest.

"Mostly French cuisine." She responded, eliciting a sound of awe from him.

"Wow! That's amazing! It's so cool that your family can cook French food! It always looks so good!" He replied, mouth full of food again.

Hitomi would have laughed at how much he resembled a chipmunk with its cheeks stuffed if she weren't so occupied with her thoughts. She wouldn't have really considered the cooks in the manor to be family, but it was far easier to let him come to these conclusions and make his own assumptions than to unintentionally flaunt her wealth.

After all, there were more than enough people who had come to 'suddenly' like her once they found out about her background.

Thinking on this, the girl's mood dampened. It was always exhausting, having to deal with the people from her world. Having to always be careful with her words and mannerisms.

With Nishinoya, she was beginning to forget about that. At first, she berated herself for slipping up so much around him, but it was actually such a relief. Even just this morning, she thought about how invigorating it was to worry about her appearance for different reasons than not wanting to attract too much attention.

And now, she realized she had to hide again. To go through the exhaustion of having to pick and choose her words at every moment.

While she would have liked to give Nishinoya the benefit of the doubt—To believe that she needn't be so guarded around him—She couldn't. Not after knowing of all the disgusting deeds that occur in her world. It was just safer this way.

Hitomi was snapped out of it when she heard, "Hey, is it true that French people really eat snails?!"

Nishinoya was staring at her, waiting for a response with eyes sparkling with fascinated curiosity. Her lips slowly tilted up, a breath of laughter seeping out. Her hand came up to her mouth to suppress her giggling. Nishinoya blinked his eyes innocently at her, wondering what made her laugh.

Maybe…Maybe she didn't need to play it so safe with him.

.

.

.

They were on their way back to the convenience store, but both of them were unknowingly walking extra slow. Secretly wanting to spend more time with the other.

Nishinoya peeked at her from the corner of his eye. He gasped, seeing how dirtied her dress was. "Hitomi-chan! Your dress! I knew this was a bad idea! I'm so sorry! How can I ever repay you?!"

The girl looked down, noticing for the first time how much mud was near the hem of her dress. She waved it off. "It's not a big deal. It just needs to be cleaned is all."

The libero furiously shook his head. "Let me buy you a new one!" He insisted.

She sighed, knowing that they were going through another one of these conversations. "You really don't need to do that, and I'm not going to let you either." She chuckled. "Nishinoya-kun, you seem so energetic and carefree most of the time, but you're actually somewhat of a worry wart."

The girl lifted up a finger each time she recounted a memory. "You worried about not having sunscreen for me, about my dress getting dirty, when we were kicked out of the library, and out of the movie theaters, and lots of other things."

The boy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I can't help it! Most of those things were my fault too…" He said, clearly ashamed of himself.

They stopped in front of the convenience store, facing each other. "While I don't think it's a bad quality of yours, you don't need to worry so much. If I was upset about anything, I would just tell you outright." Hitomi explained. "Anyways, this is where we part ways." She noticed that there was just barely an unusual tone of reluctance in her voice.

Hitomi reached into the box, pulling out one of the buckets of crawfish that they harvested. Nishinoya's eyebrows raised. "Wait! Hitomi-chan, take the other one! It has more crawfish."

She simply smiled at him. "Don't bother. Not only did you catch most of these, you eat far more than I do. I'd rather you take more of them."

"Hitomi-chaaaan!" The libero started comically crying at her kindness and generosity.

She chuckled. "Enough, enough! I'll be on my way now."

He nodded, but his legs didn't move a centimeter, fully intent on watching her go until he could no longer see her. "Get back safely!" He wished her off.

Hitomi took a few steps before stopping and slightly turning her body back around. Nishinoya tilted his head at her, innocent questioning in his eyes. She looked down, thinking on what to say.

"Nishinoya-kun…" He leaned forward eagerly at his name. "Thank you for today. I had fun. Let's do it again sometime." She suggested with a tender smile that nearly melted him.

"Of course! We can go to that café again, and you can finally try their shaved ice!" The boy's smile was so wide, she thought his cheeks might be hurting at this point.

Hitomi nodded with a small smile. "I'd like that. See you next time." As she walked off, she peeked back a few times to see him still standing in the same place. A bright closed-eye smile with pink cheeks, one hand precariously balancing the large cardboard box and the other enthusiastically waving goodbye to her.

Her smile didn't dim even when she reached her home. Buzzing in, the gates automatically opened and closed. The front doors swung open for her as she reached them, revealing Chiyo and a few other maids. "Welcome back, Hitomi-sa—! Hitomi-sama!? What happened!? Your dress has been so dirtied!" Chiyo cried out.

"It's just a bit of mud, Chiyo. You don't need to worry so much." The young girl explained, but that didn't stop the maid from rushing to give orders on preparing her bath.

"We must get you cleaned up immediately! Let me take that, milady." Chiyo took the bucket from her, looking inside as she did so. "Crawfish!?" She shouted out, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her today.

Hitomi simply walked past her and started going up the stairs. "Tell the chef that I'd like a dish that makes good use of crawfish for dinner tonight."

"O-Of course…" Chiyo responded, but her eyes were beholding yet another unbelievable sight.

With a pep in her step, Hitomi walked off with an incredibly serene smile that brightened up the whole room.


End file.
